阻挡
zǔ dǎng · HSK 7
to stop
🚧🛑 阻挡 = 阻 hinder + 挡 ward off — two blocking verbs stacked to mean obstruct
Both characters already mean to block: 阻 (zǔ) is to hinder or impede, 挡 (dǎng) is to fend off or ward away. Stacking the two synonyms intensifies the sense of stopping or obstructing something. The 扌 hand radical in 挡 hints at fending off by hand.
挡 — hand radical 扌 + 当 dāng (phonetic)
挡 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals an action done with the hand, while 当 (dāng) supplies the sound. The combined character means to block, obstruct, or ward off — actions naturally performed by hand. It is the simplified form of 擋.