TongTong
Sign in

不止 (bù zhǐ) — (verb) to not stop, to be incessant; (adverb) more than; not simply; (used before numbers or amounts to indicate excess or beyond what is expected)

Definition

不止 is a verb/adverb meaning 'not stop / more than' — before numbers it means 'more than' (不止一次 = more than once); with a subject it means 'not limited to' (参加的不止我们 = not just us). Often paired with 还 or 也 to add items, like 不仅/不光.

verb
to not stopto be incessant
adverb
more thannot simply(used before numbers or amounts to indicate excess or beyond what is expected)

Examples

  • 不止，。
    Zhè chǎng yǔ xià bù zhǐ, yǐ jīng xià le sān tiān le.
    This rain hasn't stopped; it's been raining for three days.
  • 不止。
    Wǒ bú bù zhǐ yí cì gào sù tā zhè ge shì.
    I've told her about this more than once.
  • 不止。
    Cān jiā zhè ge xiàng mù de bú bù zhǐ wǒ men gōng sī.
    Our company is not the only one participating in this project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不bùnot
止zhǐstop

不 negates 止, which means stop, so the word can mean not stopping or more than a limit.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

止 was drawn as a footprint pointing up, with three toes and a sole, originally showing a foot.

Open 止 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Quantity & Amount5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.