塞き止める

• Reading: せきとめる
• Romaji: sekitomeru
• Kanji breakdown: 塞 (seki) — to block, fill up; 止 (to) — to stop, halt
• Pronunciation: /se.ki.to.me.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To dam up; to block; to hold back; to stem. To stop the flow of something by placing an obstruction.

A Group 2 (ichidan) compound verb combining 塞く (to dam, stop a flow) and 止める (to stop, halt). 塞き止める is used for blocking water (川を塞き止める — to dam a river), holding back crowds (人の流れを塞き止める — to block the flow of people), and figuratively for suppressing emotions or information (涙を塞き止める — to hold back tears). The verb emphasises active, forceful obstruction that prevents something from passing.

Examples

1. 土砂崩れによって川が塞き止められ、上流に大きな池が形成された。 A landslide dammed the river, forming a large lake upstream.
2. 感情が溢れそうになるのを必死に塞き止めながら、彼女は最後まで笑顔でいた。 Desperately holding back a flood of emotion, she kept smiling right until the very end.
3. 警官が押し寄せるデモ隊の前進を塞き止め、緊張した対峙が続いた。 Police blocked the advance of the surging protesters, and a tense standoff continued.

Usage Guide

Context: natural disasters, hydrology, crowd control, emotional suppression

Tone: neutral to tense

Origin & History

Compound of 塞く (se-ku — to dam, stop flowing; from 塞 'to block, fill up') and 止める (to-me-ru — to stop, halt). 塞 contains the image of filling and closing an opening. The verb pair 塞き止める (transitive) and 塞き止まる (intransitive) both describe the interruption of flow.

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional-Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal