遏制

• Pinyin: è zhì
• Hanzi breakdown: 遏 = 辶 (movement radical) + 曷 (phonetic, why/what) — to halt forward movement; 制 = 刀 (knife) + 木 (wood) + 牛 variant — to cut and shape, hence to control

Meaning

To contain; to restrain; to check; to suppress. To prevent something harmful from expanding or escalating.

遏制 is used in geopolitical strategy (遏制扩张 — containing expansion), public health (遏制疫情 — containing an epidemic), and economic policy (遏制通胀 — curbing inflation). It implies a proactive, deliberate effort to hold back an undesirable force before it grows further.

Examples

1. 国际社会正联合采取措施，遏制核武器的进一步扩散。 The international community is taking joint measures to curb the further proliferation of nuclear weapons.
2. 政府出台多项政策，旨在遏制房价的过快上涨，稳定市场预期。 The government introduced multiple policies aimed at curbing excessively rapid housing price increases and stabilizing market expectations.
3. 面对愤怒，他竭力遏制住内心冲动，选择以平静而理性的方式处理争端。 In the face of anger, he struggled to rein in his impulses and chose to handle the dispute calmly and rationally.

Usage Guide

Context: geopolitics, public health, economics, psychology

Tone: decisive

Do Say

• 遏制通货膨胀是此次中央银行调整利率政策的核心目标，旨在通过收紧货币供给来稳定物价水平。(Containing inflation is the core objective of the central bank's adjustment of interest rate policy, aiming to stabilise price levels by tightening the money supply.)
• 多国联合制裁措施旨在遏制该地区武装冲突的进一步升级，敦促各方回到谈判桌前寻求政治解决途径。(The joint sanctions measures of multiple countries aim to contain the further escalation of armed conflict in the region and urge all parties to return to the negotiating table to seek a political resolution.)

Don't Say

• 她遏制了哭声 — while 遏制 can appear with emotions in literary contexts, natural collocation for suppressing tears or cries is 忍住眼泪 or 克制情绪; 遏制 sounds overly formal for personal emotional contexts

Origin & History

遏 (to stop/obstruct movement) + 制 (to control/restrain) — to halt and bring under control

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal