obstacle; impediment; hindrance
Formal or literary term for something that blocks progress or makes a task difficult. Often used in abstract contexts like social barriers or bureaucratic obstacles.
Language barriers hinder international exchange.
He overcame many obstacles and succeeded.
Standard modern spelling; 碍 is a simplified form of 礙.
Traditional kyūjitai spelling; still seen in older texts.
From Middle Chinese 障礙 (obstacle, hindrance). The kanji 障 means 'to block' and 礙/碍 means 'to obstruct'. The spelling 障碍 is now standard in modern Japanese.