止 (zhǐ): to stop, to prohibit, until
止 (zhǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to stop.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 上 (structural) and 丨 (structural). It ranks #596 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 止 a foot. Its radical form 止 (stop) appears in many related characters such as 正 (zhèng, straight), 此 (cǐ, this), 步 (bù, a step).
Definitions
- to stop
- to prohibit
- until
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 止 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 止
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 阻止verb | zǔ zhǐ | to prevent | 5 |
| 停止verb | tíng zhǐ | to stop | 4 |
| 为止verb | wéi zhǐ | until | 6 |
| 禁止verb | jìn zhǐ | to prohibit | 4 |
| 不止verb/adverb | bù zhǐ | incessantly | 6 |
| 防止verb | fáng zhǐ | to prevent | 5 |
| 截止verb | jié zhǐ | to end | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 到此为止 | dào cǐ wéi zhǐ | to stop at this point |
| 终止 | zhōng zhǐ | to stop |
| 举止 | jǔ zhǐ | bearing |
| 制止 | zhì zhǐ | to curb |
| 中止 | zhōng zhǐ | to cease |
| 止痛药 | zhǐ tòng yào | painkiller |
| 迄今为止 | qì jīn wéi zhǐ | so far |
| 止血 | zhǐ xuè | to staunch (bleeding) |
| 静止 | jìng zhǐ | still |
| 休止 | xiū zhǐ | to stop |
| 止步 | zhǐ bù | to halt |
| 适可而止 | shì kě ér zhǐ | (idiom) to refrain from going too far |
| 止痛 | zhǐ tòng | to relieve pain |
| 叹为观止 | tàn wéi guān zhǐ | (idiom) to gasp in amazement |
| 止痛片 | zhǐ tòng piàn | painkiller |
止 appears in 88 compound words: 26 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 止 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
one's mind is as calm as still water; to remain unmoved by circumstances; at peace with oneself
one's mind is as calm as still water; to remain unmoved by circumstances; at peace with oneself
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 止.
Example Sentences
雨终于停了，我们可以继续前进了。
Yǔ zhōngyú tíng le, wǒmen kěyǐ jìxù qiánjìn le.
The rain has finally stopped; we can continue moving forward.
Bitcoin|比特币未止跌 跌至6.3万美元水平
B i t c o i n bǐ tè bì wèi zhǐ diē diē zhì 6 . 3 wàn měi yuán shuǐ píng
Bitcoin has not stopped falling to the $63,000 level
...进党新北初选出线 蔡美华邀桃园2绿议员汐止扫街
. . . jìn dǎng xīn běi chū xuǎn chū xiàn 蔡 měi huá yāo táo yuán 2 lǜ yì yuán 汐 zhǐ sǎo jiē
... Entering the party's New Taipei primary election line Cai Meihua invited Taoyuan 2 green councilor Xizhi to sweep the streets
......韩国瑜:不要化骨绵掌 赖清德:专长止咳化痰
. . . . . . hán guó 瑜 : bù yāo huà gǔ mián zhǎng lài qīng dé : zhuān cháng zhǐ hāi huà tán
...... Han Guoyu: Don't turn bones into cotton palms Lai Qingde: Specialize in relieving cough and phlegm
...4 新北坪林区规模4.0地震 最大震度汐止2级
. . . 4 xīn běi píng lín qū guī mó 4 . 0 dì zhèn zuì dà zhèn dù 汐 zhǐ 2 jí
... 4 The magnitude of the 4.0 earthquake in Pinglin District, New Taipei, with a maximum seismic intensity of Xizhi 2
春晚的另一场“巷战”:AI挤进春节档,不止为了发红..
chūn wǎn de lìng yī chǎng xiàng zhàn jǐ jìn chūn jié dǎng , bù zhǐ wéi le fā hóng . .
Another "Alley-oop" at the Spring Festival Gala: AI is squeezing into the Spring Festival slot, not just to send out red...
这样的举止只可能是个绅士。
Zhèyàng de jǔzhǐ zhǐ kěnéng shì ge shēnshì.
He must be a gentleman to act that way.
非工作人员禁止入内。
Fēi gōngzuòrényuán jìnzhǐ rù nèi.
No admittance except on business.
这房间是禁止吸烟的。
Zhè fángjiān shì jìnzhǐxīyān de.
You can't smoke in this room.
阅览室里禁止说话。
Yuèlǎnshì lǐ jìnzhǐ shuōhuà.
Don't talk in the reading room.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 止 (zhǐ)?
Is 止 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 止 with real-time feedback
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