防止 (fáng zhǐ) — to prevent; to guard against | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

防止 focuses on stopping something bad from happening through preemptive measures. Stronger than 避免 (which means simply steering clear); 阻止 is more about actively blocking something already in motion.

verb

to preventto guard against

Examples

防止。
Dìng qī jiǎn chá kě yǐ fáng zhǐ shì gù de fā shēng.
Regular inspections can prevent accidents.
防止。
Qín xǐ shǒu néng yǒu xiào fáng zhǐ jí bìng.
Frequent handwashing can effectively prevent disease.
防止。
Tā men cǎi qǔ le cuò shī lái fáng zhǐ sǔn shī.
They took measures to prevent losses.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

防fángprevent

防 and 止 both point to stopping, so the word means to prevent.

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.

阝方防

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng防fáng

Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Safety & Danger 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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