防止 meaning in English

fángzhǐ

to prevent; to guard against

HSK 3verb10 strokes

Meaning of 防止

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

fángzhǐ

to prevent
to guard against
to take precautions

How to use 防止

防止 is used for stopping something bad before it occurs, such as accidents, illness, or mistakes. It usually takes a noun or a verb phrase as its object. Example: 多洗手可以防止生病。(Duō xǐ shǒu kěyǐ fángzhǐ shēngbìng.) Washing your hands often can prevent illness.

防 (fáng) means to guard or defend, and 止 (zhǐ) means to stop. Put them together and you guard against something so you can stop it before it happens.

Common mistake: Learners often use 防止 when they mean 阻止 (zǔzhǐ). 防止 is about preventing something in advance, while 阻止 means stopping a person or action that is already happening or about to happen, as in 阻止他离开 (stop him from leaving).

防止 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

您nín不bù能néng防fáng止zhǐ您nín的de狗gǒu跑pǎo到dào我wǒ的de院yuàn子zi里lǐ来lái吗ma？

Can't you keep your dog from coming into my garden?

律lǜ师shī是shì防fáng止zhǐ别bié人rén拿ná你nǐ的de钱qián的de人rén。

A lawyer is a person who prevents someone else from getting your money.

防fáng止zhǐ山shān火huǒ，人rén人rén有yǒu责zé。

The prevention of forest fires is everyone's responsibility.

她tā穿chuān著zhù一yī件jiàn厚hòu外wài套tào以yǐ防fáng止zhǐ冷lěng。

She was wearing a thick coat against the chill.

为wèi了le防fáng止zhǐ盗dào版bǎn，他tā有yǒu些xiē电diàn影yǐng从cóng未wèi在zài影yǐng院yuàn上shàng映yìng。

To prevent them from being pirated, some of his films were never shown at the cinema.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

防 fáng · to protect · 6 strokes

止 zhǐ · to stop · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 防止.

停止	tíngzhǐ	to stop; to halt; to cease
预防	yùfáng	to prevent; to take precautions against
阻止	zǔzhǐ	to prevent; to block
禁止	jìnzhǐ	to prohibit; to forbid
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
终止	zhōngzhǐ	to stop; to terminate
消防	xiāofáng	firefighting; fire control
防治	fángzhì	to prevent and cure; prevention and cure
防守	fángshǒu	to defend; to protect (against)
防范	fángfàn	to be on guard; wariness
截止	jiézhǐ	to end; to close; (electricity) cut-off

Questions about 防止

What does 防止 mean?

防止 (fángzhǐ) means "to prevent; to guard against" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 防止?

防止 is made of 2 characters: 防 (6 strokes), 止 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 防止 an HSK word?

Yes. 防止 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 防止 and 预防?

Both mean to prevent, but 预防 (yùfáng) stresses planning ahead and is common with diseases, as in 预防感冒. 防止 is broader and is used for almost any unwanted result, like 防止浪费 (prevent waste).

Can 防止 be followed by a whole clause?

Yes. You can say 防止孩子摔倒 (fángzhǐ háizi shuāidǎo), meaning to keep the child from falling. The object can be a noun or a short clause describing the bad outcome.