膠こう着ちゃく状じょう態たい

こ

う

ちゃ

く

じょ

う

た

い

Meanings

1

noun

deadlock; stalemate; standstill

Describes a situation where progress is completely halted, often used in negotiations, conflicts, or discussions.

交こう渉しょうは膠

こう

着ちゃく

状じょう

態たい

に

陥おちい

っ

て

いる

。

The negotiations have reached a deadlock.

戦せん線せんは膠こう着ちゃく状じょう態たいが続つづいている。

The front lines remain in a stalemate.

Kanji

膠glue, isinglass
着don, arrive, wear
状status quo, conditions, circumstances
態attitude, condition, figure

Related words

袋ふくろ小こう路じ
膠着状態 is a formal term for a stalled situation with no movement, closely matching the figurative sense of 袋小路 in negotiations or disputes.

Built from

膠こう着ちゃく+状じょう態たい

Written forms

膠こう着ちゃく状じょう態たい
Standard kanji spelling using 膠着 (adhesion/sticking) + 状態 (state).
こう着ちゃく状じょう態たい
Common simplified spelling replacing the difficult 膠 with こう.

Etymology

Compound of 膠着 (こうちゃく, 'adhesion, agglutination') and 状態 (じょうたい, 'state, condition'). 膠着 originally referred to glue-like sticking, and metaphorically extended to a situation where things are stuck and cannot move forward.