窄 zhǎi narrow
narrow; tight; narrow-minded
How it came to be
The hole block, a cave mouth, over the suddenly block for the sound. There is no old form. The character is late, made to name a gap you have to turn sideways for.
How it is used
- Everyday adjective for physical narrowness: 路很窄 (lù hěn zhǎi) "the road is narrow", opposite of 宽 (kuān) "wide" - 路很宽 (lù hěn kuān) the road is wide.
- 狭窄 (xiázhǎi) is the more formal/written synonym and also extends more readily to abstract narrowness - 眼界狭窄 "narrow-minded/limited outlook" - where bare 窄 sounds odd.
- Casual, concrete register; for describing a person's narrow-mindedness, 心胸狭窄 (xīnxiōng xiázhǎi) is the set phrase, not bare 窄.