内格

nèi gé

Barred within · nei ge

Also rendered: Obstructed within (this site; it keeps 格 as an obstruction rather than a frame, which is the sense the chapter needs) · Nei ge (transliteration; used when the sentence is quoted whole)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-10-09

At a glance

Pinyin: nèi gé
Simplified: 内格
Literal: 内 nèi — within, inside (《說文》: 内，入也；自外而入也); 格 gé — a barrier, and to obstruct (《說文》: 格，木長皃；引申為扞格、阻格). 内格 is the state of being obstructed from within: the chapter's last word for what happens when a man turns compliance into its opposite. The sentence it closes is 反順爲逆，是謂内格 — to take following and make it opposition, that is called being barred within.
Shuowen: **「内」讀 nèi，本篇3見**；**「格」讀 gé，本篇1見**；**「内格」本篇1見**；**《說文》：内，入也；格，木長皃，引申為扞格**；**本篇「反順爲逆，是謂内格」八字，是內格之的解**

In brief

The word Suwen 2 ends its argument with. Having set out the four seasons and the root they share, the chapter says plainly that following yin and yang is life and going against them is death, and then names the condition of the man who has got it backwards: he is barred within. It is the last illness name in the chapter, and the only one that is not the consequence of a single season’s mistake but of the whole orientation.

Senses in the classical corpus

The graphs 内格

内者中也，格者扞格也；内格謂中有所扞格

反順爲逆，是謂内格 — Suwen 2

Following and opposing 從陰陽則生，逆之則死

從逆二者，生死所分

從陰陽則生，逆之則死 — Suwen 2

Order and disorder 從之則治，逆之則亂

治亂猶生死，皆由從逆

從之則治，逆之則亂 — Suwen 2

Turning compliance over 反順爲逆

順者反以為逆，是謂倒行

反順爲逆，是謂内格 — Suwen 2

The chapter's last name 是謂内格

內格二字，本篇之結語

反順爲逆，是謂内格 — Suwen 2

What the sage does instead 聖人行之，愚者佩之

行與佩，是內格與否之分

道者，聖人行之，愚者佩之 — Suwen 2

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display

2 passages

素問·四氣調神大論 Suwen 2 · 四氣調神大論 Read in context →

道者，聖人行之，愚者佩之。從陰陽則生，逆之則死；從之則治，逆之則亂。反順爲逆，是謂内格。道者，圣人行之，愚者佩之。从阴阳则生，逆之则死；从之则治，逆之则乱。反顺为逆，是谓内格。

Dào zhě, shèng rén xíng zhī, yú zhě pèi zhī. cóng yīn yáng zé shēng, nì zhī zé sǐ; cóng zhī zé zhì, nì zhī zé luàn. fǎn shùn wéi nì, shì wèi nèi gé.

As for the way: the sage walks in it, the foolish merely wear it. Follow yin and yang and you live; go against them and you die. Follow them and there is order; go against them and there is disorder. To turn compliance into its opposite and call it opposition — this is called being barred within.

**「内格」本篇1見**；**「反順爲逆」四字，是內格之因**；**「愚者佩之」之佩，一說讀為背，二說並存**

Suwen 71 Suwen 71 · 六元正紀大論 Read in context →

終之氣，燥令行，餘火内格，腫於上，欬喘，甚則血溢，寒氣數舉，則霿霧翳，病生皮腠，内舍於脅，下連少腹，而作寒中，地將易也。必抑其運氣，資其歲勝，折其鬱發，先取化源，無使暴過而生其病也。终之气，燥令行，余火内格，肿于上，咳喘，甚则血溢，寒气数举，则霿雾翳，病生皮腠，内舍于胁，下连少腹，而作寒中，地将易也。必抑其运气，资其岁胜，折其郁发，先取化源，无使暴过而生其病也。

Zhōng zhī qì, zào lìng xíng, yú huǒ nèi gé, zhǒng yú shàng, kài chuǎn, shèn zé xuè yì, hán qì shuò jǔ, zé méng wù yì, bìng shēng pí còu, nèi shè yú xié, xià lián shào fù, ér zuò hán zhōng, dì jiāng yì yě. Bì yì qí yùn qì, zī qí suì shèng, zhé qí yù fā, xiān qǔ huà yuán, wú shǐ bào guò ér shēng qí bìng yě.

The final qi: the command of dryness moves; the remaining fire is shut off within; there is swelling above, coughing and panting, and in severe cases blood spilling. When cold qi rises again and again there is murky fog and a blurring veil; illness arises in the skin and interstices, lodges within at the ribs and reaches down to the lower belly, making cold in the centre — the earth is about to change. One must check their circuit qi, aid what prevails over the year, break their pent outbreak and first take the source of transformation, so that no violent excess arises and brings illness.

**「内格」本篇1見，止在此句**；**此段終之氣「餘火内格，腫於上」，火氣為寒所格而不得出**

Compounds built on this term

反順爲逆

fǎn shùn wéi nì

turning compliance into opposition

本篇1見

從陰陽則生

cóng yīn yáng zé shēng

following yin and yang, one lives

本篇1見

聖人行之

shèng rén xíng zhī

the sage walks in it

本篇1見

愚者佩之

yú zhě pèi zhī

the foolish merely wear it

本篇1見

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

This site	Barred within · nei ge	格 is a bar, and the chapter's point is that the bar is not outside the man but inside him
Literal	inner obstruction	plain and accurate; it does not say whose doing the obstruction is
Descriptive	inner resistance	the reading favoured in discussions of the chapter's ending; narrower than 格, which is a bar and not a pushing

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-09

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