辍 (chuò) — (bound morpheme) to stop, to cease, to suspend (before completion)

Definition

Bound morpheme meaning 'to stop before completion' — always paired with a following verb (辍学 drop out of school, 辍笔 stop writing). It implies an interruption, not a natural end.

bound form
(bound morpheme) to stopto ceaseto suspend (before completion)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Tā yīn wèi jīng jì kùn nan bù dé bú chuò xué.
    He had to drop out of school because of financial difficulties.
  • 辍，。
    Zhù míng zuò jiā wǎn nián chuò bǐ, bú zài chuàng zuò.
    The famous writer stopped writing in his later years and no longer created.
  • ，。
    Yīn wèi jiā tíng jīng jì kùn nan, tā zhǐ dé chuò xué.
    Because of family financial difficulties, he had to drop out of school.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 輟; 辍 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage; chariot
Sound part声符shēngfú
叕
叕zhuó輟
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輟, not the simplified 辍, pairs 車 (carriage; chariot) with 叕 for the sound.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.