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禁止 (jìn zhǐ) — to prohibit; to forbid; to ban

Definition

禁止 (jìnzhǐ) means 'to prohibit / to forbid' — a formal verb used for rules and signs, stronger than 不许, weaker than 严禁. Often appears on notices: 禁止吸烟 = No Smoking.

verb
to prohibitto forbidto ban

Examples

  • 禁止。
    Tú shū guǎn lǐ jìn zhǐ dà shēng shuō huà.
    Talking loudly is prohibited in the library.
  • 禁止。
    Gōng sī jìn zhǐ yuán gōng shàng bān shí wán shǒu jī.
    The company forbids employees from playing on their phones during work.
  • 禁止。
    Gōng yuán lǐ jìn zhǐ zhāi huā.
    Picking flowers is forbidden in the park.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

禁jìnforbid
止zhǐstop

禁 forbid and 止 stop together mean to prohibit.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →

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
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