袋小路(ふくろこうじ)

ふくろこうじ
noun
dead end, cul-de-sac, impasse
geographyabstract
1. dead end, cul-de-sac
A street or alley closed at one end, with no through passage.
この道(みち)は袋小路(ふくろこうじ)だ。
This road is a dead end.
袋小路(ふくろこうじ)に入(はい)ってしまった。
I ended up in a cul-de-sac.
袋小路(ふくろこうじ)の奥(おく)に小(ちい)さな神社(じんじゃ)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(こうしょう)は袋小路(ふくろこうじ)に陥(おちい)った。
The negotiations have reached an impasse.
議論(ぎろん)が袋小路(ふくろこうじ)に入(はい)る。
The discussion reaches a deadlock.
この問題(もんだい)は袋小路(ふくろこうじ)から抜(ぬ)け出(だ)せない。
We can't escape from this impasse on this issue.

袋小路(ふくろこうじ) 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

Related terms

Related Words

Related: 迷路(めいろ) (maze, labyrinth)
Related: 行(い)き詰(づ)まる (to reach a dead end)
Related: 路地(ろじ) (alley, narrow lane)
Compare: 行(い)き詰(づ)まり (deadlock)
Compare: 行(い)き止(ど)まり (dead end)
Related: 突(つ)き当(あ)たり (dead end)
general
Added 2026.2.1 18:10 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
09000/09385_fukurokouji