袋小路|ふくろこうじfukurokouji[4]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nounblind alley; cul-de-sac; dead end street
2. noundeadlock; impasse; dead end
   迷まよっている間あいだにも、どんどん袋小路ふくろこうじに追おいつめられていくみたい。↗

   Even while I was dithering it's like I was being backed further and further into a corner.

• Synonym行き止まりいきどまりNeutralThe point where a road ends and you cannot go on — the plain word for an actual dead end. 「袋小路」 extends to figurative impasses; this stays mostly literal.
• Related行き詰まりいきづまりNeutralReaching a standstill, mostly figurative — things stuck and unable to move on. 「袋小路」 also covers actual dead-end streets, so its image is more concrete.
• Related手詰まりてづまりNeutralRunning out of options — every means exhausted, no moves left. Emphasizes having no tricks; said mainly of negotiations and games like chess.
• Related立ち往生たちおうじょうNeutralStuck unable to move, as a train or car stranded mid-journey, or left standing speechless. Emphasizes being caught between going forward and back.
• RelatedデッドロックNeutralLoanword for a deadlock between parties; in computing, the technical term for a system deadlock. Leans professional and technical.
• Related膠着こうちゃくWrittenWritten, formal word for a stalemate — locked in place with no progress. Typical of war situations and negotiations.
• Related膠着状態こうちゃくじょうたいNeutralNames the state of two sides locked in stalemate, neither yielding. Emphasizes the mutual standoff between parties.
• Antonym抜け道ぬけみちNeutralAntonym: a side path or shortcut that gets you through, also a way out of trouble or a loophole — the escape route a dead end lacks.
• Antonym通り抜けとおりぬけNeutralAntonym: going through a place to the other side, or a passage that allows it — the through-route a 「袋小路」 by definition lacks.

Use 「袋小路」 for a dead-end street you cannot get through, or figuratively for an impasse, as in 「議論が袋小路に入る」. For a stalled situation say 「行き詰まり」; for two sides locked in stalemate, 「膠着状態」; for the end of an actual road, 「行き止まり」. The antonym is 「抜け道」, a way out.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 行き止いきどまりで通り抜とおりぬけることができない小路こうじ。
2. 物事ものごとが行き詰いきづまり、解決かいけつが難むずかしくなること。