搁置

• Pinyin: gē zhì
• Hanzi breakdown: 搁 = 扌 (hand) + 阁 (rest/place aside); 置 = 罒 + 直 (to place deliberately)

Meaning

To shelve; to set aside; to defer indefinitely. Used for plans, proposals, or issues that are suspended without a fixed timeline for resumption.

A formal verb indicating deliberate suspension of something without cancellation. Implies it may be revisited in future. Common in political, legal, business, and diplomatic contexts. Stronger than 暂停 (temporarily pause) — carries a sense of open-ended deferral.

Examples

1. 委员会以审慎为由，决定将该修正案提交全体大会前先行搁置讨论。 Citing caution, the committee decided to postpone discussion of the amendment before submitting it to the full assembly.
2. 由于关键技术瓶颈至今未能突破，载人登月工程的第二阶段计划被迫搁置。 Because the key technical bottlenecks still haven’t been overcome, the second-phase plan for the crewed moon-landing project has been put on hold.
3. 两国之间的领土争议被搁置数十年，如今再度成为外交谈判的核心议题。 The territorial dispute between the two countries was set aside for decades, but it has now once again become the central issue in diplomatic negotiations.

Usage Guide

Context: politics, business, diplomacy, law

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这一争议问题经双方协商后暂时搁置，待条件成熟时再重启谈判。(After consultation, this contentious issue has been temporarily shelved — negotiations will restart when conditions are right.)
• 董事会投票决定将扩张计划搁置一年，优先巩固现有业务的盈利能力。(The board voted to shelve the expansion plan for one year, prioritising the strengthening of existing business profitability.)

Don't Say

• 把感情搁置 — while used poetically, in formal contexts prefer 暂缓处理 for abstract matters that are deferred

Origin & History

搁 = 扌 + 阁 (set aside); 置 = 罒 + 直 (to place, to put in position)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal