traffic jam; to be stuck in traffic
HSK level
堵车 is written with 15 strokes (堵: 11, 车: 4). The animation replays automatically.
堵车 (dǔchē) means 'to be stuck in a traffic jam / for traffic to be congested.'
The literal sense is 'blocked cars': 堵 means to block or plug up, and 车 is vehicles. It works as a verb describing a state, so you say 路上堵车 (the roads are jammed) or 今天堵车堵得厉害 (traffic is really bad today). English speakers should note it is a verb-object compound, not a noun — you can't neatly say 'a 堵车' the way English says 'a traffic jam'; instead the whole phrase describes the situation.
A common near-equivalent is 塞车 (sāichē), which is the standard form in southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, while 堵车 dominates in the north and standard Mainland Mandarin. The formal written term is 交通拥堵.
Note: 堵车 is everyday spoken speech. In formal traffic reports you may also see 交通拥堵 (jiāotōng yōngdǔ).
Character by character
Memory hook: 堵 (block) + 车 (cars) = cars blocked up → a traffic jam.
路上堵车，我可能会晚一点。
Lùshang dǔchē, wǒ kěnéng huì wǎn yìdiǎn.
There's a traffic jam, I might be a bit late.
spoken
早上八点最容易堵车。
Zǎoshang bā diǎn zuì róngyì dǔchē.
Eight in the morning is when traffic jams up the most.
spoken
今天堵车堵得特别厉害。
Jīntiān dǔchē dǔ de tèbié lìhai.
The traffic today was especially terrible.
spoken
为了不堵车，他决定坐地铁上班。
Wèile bù dǔchē, tā juédìng zuò dìtiě shàngbān.
To avoid traffic jams, he decided to take the subway to work.
neutral
塞车 means the same thing but is the preferred word in southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. 堵车 is standard in the north and in Mainland Putonghua. Choose by region.
交通拥堵 is the formal, written term used in traffic reports and official notices. 堵车 is the casual spoken word you use with friends.
赌 (dǔ, to gamble/bet) sounds identical to 堵 but has the 贝 (money) radical instead of 土. 堵车 = traffic jam; 赌 = to gamble. Different characters, same sound.
停车 means 'to park a car' — a deliberate act. 堵车 means being stuck in congestion against your will. Don't mix parking with jams.
Acquire it by listening
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 堵车 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.
