停止 (tíng zhǐ) — to stop; to halt; to cease

Definition

General-purpose 'to stop / halt' for ongoing actions or events (比赛停止了, 他停止说话了). Broader than 停 (often vehicles) and more everyday than the formal 终止.

verb

to stopto haltto cease

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

停 and 止 both mean stop, so the word simply expresses ceasing.

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.

亻亭停

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

亭

Same sound today

The left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 亭 gives the sound tíng; this forms 停.

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