閉塞感(へいそくかん)

へいそくかん
noun
sense of stagnation; feeling of being stuck
1. sense of stagnation; feeling of being stuck; oppressive atmosphere
A feeling that progress is blocked or that the situation is stifling and there is no way forward. Used for both personal feelings and broader social or economic conditions.
閉塞感(へいそくかん)を感(かん)じる。
I feel a sense of stagnation.
社会(しゃかい)全体(ぜんたい)に閉塞感(へいそくかん)が漂(ただよ)っている。
A sense of stagnation pervades society as a whole.
長引(ながび)く不況(ふきょう)による閉塞感(へいそくかん)を打破(だは)するために、新(あたら)しい政策(せいさく)が求(もと)められている。
New policies are needed to break through the sense of stagnation caused by the prolonged recession.

閉塞感(へいそくかん) describes a feeling that progress is blocked and there is no way forward. A compound of 閉塞(へいそく) (blockage, obstruction) + 感(かん) (feeling, sense).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 閉塞感(へいそくかん)を感(かん)じる: to feel stagnation
  • 閉塞感(へいそくかん)が漂(ただよ)う: stagnation pervades
  • 閉塞感(へいそくかん)を打破(だは)する: to break through stagnation
  • 閉塞感(へいそくかん)に包(つつ)まれる: to be enveloped in stagnation

USAGE:
Frequently used in news commentary and essays about economic or social conditions. Can also describe personal feelings of being stuck in life or career. Tends toward formal or literary register.

RELATED WORDS:

  • 行(い)き詰(づ)まり: deadlock, impasse (more concrete)
  • 停滞(ていたい): stagnation (economic or progress-related)
general
Added 2026.3.23 14:27 · Revised 2026.4.8 13:19
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