phong toả
Definition
- 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.)