1.
dead end, cul-de-sac
A street or alley closed at one end, with no through passage.
この道は袋小路だ。
This road is a dead end.
袋小路に入ってしまった。
I ended up in a cul-de-sac.
袋小路の奥に小さな神社がある。
There's a small shrine at the end of the cul-de-sac.
2.
impasse, deadlock
A situation with no way forward or solution.
交渉は袋小路に陥った。
The negotiations have reached an impasse.
議論が袋小路に入る。
The discussion reaches a deadlock.
この問題は袋小路から抜け出せない。
We can't escape from this impasse on this issue.
袋小路 literally means "bag-like alley," referring to a street closed at one end like the bottom of a bag. It's commonly used figuratively to describe stuck situations.
Common collocations:
- 袋小路に陥る: to fall into an impasse
- 袋小路に入る: to reach a dead end
- 袋小路から抜け出す: to escape from a deadlock
Related terms:
- 行き止まり: dead end (more common for physical roads)
- 迷路: maze, labyrinth