Meaning of 停止
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to stop; to halt; to cease
How to use 停止
停止 is a fairly formal verb used for activities, processes, or machines coming to an end, often in news, notices, and announcements. It usually takes a verb or noun after it. Example: 雨停止了。(Yǔ tíngzhǐ le.) The rain stopped.
停 (tíng) shows a person 亻 next to 亭, a pavilion where travelers rest, and 止 (zhǐ) means to stop. A person pauses at a rest stop and stops, so 停止 means to halt or cease.
Common mistake: Learners often use 停止 for casual everyday stopping, like telling a friend to stop walking. In speech, 停 (tíng) or 停下 (tíngxia) sounds more natural, for example 别说了 (bié shuō le) for "stop talking." Also do not confuse 停止 (to stop doing something) with 禁止 (jìnzhǐ, to forbid) or 阻止 (zǔzhǐ, to stop someone else).
停止 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
停 tíng · to stop · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
止 zhǐ · to stop · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 停止.
| 停车 | tíngchē | to pull up (stop one's vehicle); to park |
| 停车场 | tíngchēchǎng | parking lot; car park |
| 防止 | fángzhǐ | to prevent; to guard against |
| 阻止 | zǔzhǐ | to prevent; to block |
| 停下 | tíngxia | to stop |
| 禁止 | jìnzhǐ | to prohibit; to forbid |
| 不停 | bù tíng | incessant |
| 不止 | bùzhǐ | incessantly; without end |
| 为止 | wéizhǐ | until; (used in combination with words like 到[dao4] or 至[zhi4] in constructs of the form 到 |
| 暂停 | zàntíng | to suspend; time-out (e.g. in sports) |
| 停留 | tíngliú | to stay for a time; to stop; to remain; to remain (at a stage, level etc) |
| 终止 | zhōngzhǐ | to stop; to terminate |
Questions about 停止
What does 停止 mean?
停止 (tíngzhǐ) means "to stop; to halt; to cease" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 停止?
停止 is made of 2 characters: 停 (11 strokes), 止 (4 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 停止 an HSK word?
Yes. 停止 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 停止 be followed by another verb?
Yes. You can say 停止工作 (tíngzhǐ gōngzuò, stop working) or 停止营业 (tíngzhǐ yíngyè, stop doing business). The verb comes directly after 停止 with no extra word in between.
What is the difference between 停止 and 停下?
停下 (tíngxia) usually describes a physical stop at a moment, like a car or a person stopping moving. 停止 is broader and more formal, and often means an activity ends completely, such as 停止生产 (tíngzhǐ shēngchǎn, stop production).