Definition

1. Verb:
   • To blockade; to impose a blockade: The primary meaning of "phong toả" is to prevent people, goods, or military forces from entering or leaving a specific area, such as a city, port, or region, typically using force.
   • To freeze; to block (assets, funds): In legal and financial contexts, "phong toả" means to officially and legally restrict access to or use of assets, bank accounts, or capital.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Lực lượng hải quân phong toả hải cảng. (The naval forces blockaded the seaport.)
  • Tòa án ra lệnh phong toả tài khoản ngân hàng của công ty. (The court ordered the company's bank accounts to be frozen.)
  • Thành phố bị phong toả để ngăn dịch bệnh lây lan. (The city was blockaded to prevent the spread of the disease.)

Advanced Usage

• "phong toả kinh tế": to impose an economic blockade.

  • Lệnh phong toả kinh tế gây ra tình trạng thiếu hụt nghiêm trọng. (The economic blockade caused severe shortages.)

• "lệnh phong toả": a blockade order; a freezing order (legal).

  • Cảnh sát thi hành lệnh phong toả tài sản. (The police executed an asset-freezing order.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phong tỏa (v): This is an alternate spelling with the same meaning as "phong toả".
• Bao vây (v): to surround, to besiege (often military, but does not necessarily imply a complete blockade of movement/transit).

Synonyms

• Blockade: to seal off a place to prevent entry or exit.
• Freeze: to prevent assets from being used or moved.
• Seal off: to close an area completely.

Related Idioms

• Phong toả thông tin: to block information; to impose an information blackout.
  • Chính phủ phong toả thông tin về sự cố. (The government blocked information about the incident.)