封锁

• Pinyin: fēng suǒ
• Hanzi breakdown: 封 = 圭 + 寸 (jade tablet + inch — to seal, to confer, to close off); 锁 = 钅 + 小 + 贝 (metal + small + shell — lock, to lock)

Meaning

To blockade; to seal off; to impose a cordon or embargo. To cut off access to a place, system, or information flow.

Used in military contexts (naval blockade), policy contexts (news blackout), and digital contexts (account or access blocking). 经济封锁 = economic blockade. 消息封锁 = information blackout. 封锁现场 = seal off the scene.

Examples

1. 国际社会对该国实施的经济封锁已持续数年，其范围涵盖能源出口、金融交易及技术转让等多个领域，对当地民众的日常生活造成了深远影响。 The international community’s economic blockade of the country has lasted for years, covering areas like energy exports, financial transactions, and technology transfers, and has had a far-reaching impact on local people’s daily lives.
2. 突发公共安全事件后，警方迅速封锁了现场周边五百米范围，并设立警戒线疏导人员，确保调查有序进行。 After a sudden public safety incident, police quickly sealed off a 500-meter radius around the scene, set up cordon lines, and directed people away to ensure the investigation proceeded in an orderly manner.
3. 网络安全部门检测到异常流量后，立即对涉事服务器实施访问封锁，同时启动数据备份和系统审计程序，以防止更大范围的数据泄露。 After detecting abnormal traffic, the cybersecurity department immediately blocked access to the servers involved and launched data backups and system audits to prevent a wider data leak.

Usage Guide

Context: military, law, politics, technology

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 当局宣布对这一地区实施严格的新闻封锁，未经授权的媒体不得进入，也不得发布任何未经核实的信息。(The authorities announced a strict news blackout on the region: no unauthorized media could enter, and no unverified information could be published.)
• 在这场持续数月的商业谈判中，双方都对内部讨论实施严密封锁，不允许任何人向外透露进展。(During this months-long business negotiation, both sides tightly sealed off internal discussions and would not allow anyone to reveal progress to the outside.)

Don't Say

• 封锁 in casual contexts for simply 'blocking' someone on social media — use 拉黑 or 屏蔽 instead; 封锁 carries a strong connotation of official, systematic, or large-scale blockade

Origin & History

封 (to seal, to close) + 锁 (to lock) — to lock down and seal off

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal