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终止 (zhōng zhǐ) — to stop; to terminate

Definition

终止 means to formally and finally end something (a contract, project, relationship). Stronger and more final than 停止; unlike 中止, it does not imply the activity may resume.

verb
to stopto terminate
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，终止。
    Yóu yú zī jīn bù zú, xiàng mù bèi pò zhōng zhǐ.
    Due to insufficient funds, the project was forced to terminate.
  • 终止。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn jué zhōng zhǐ tā men de hūn yīn guān xì.
    The court ruled to terminate their marital relationship.
  • 终止。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī yǐ jīng zhōng zhǐ le suǒ yǒu yuán gōng de hé tong.
    This company has terminated all employees' contracts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

终zhōngend
止zhǐstop

End and stop combine to mean bringing something to a halt.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 終; 终 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng終zhōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 終 pairs 糸 (a cord) with 冬 as a sound part; the simplified 终 is a later shorthand. An older form showed a knot at the end of a cord.

Open 终 →

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 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Change & Process

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