止 (zhǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to stop”. It is written from ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “to stop”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇑ + ㇐ + ㇑ + ㇐
Overlapping structure
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+6B62 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 竖 / 横 / 竖 / 横)
Memory aid
Drop a tall vertical (㇑) down the middle, push a short horizontal (㇐) out to its right, stand a shorter vertical (㇑) on the left, then lay one long horizontal (㇐) under everything like a floor — the foot has come to a stop.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 停止tíng zhǐto stop; to cease止 = zhǐ
- 禁止jìn zhǐto forbid; to prohibit止 = zhǐ
- 迄今为止qì jīn wéi zhǐup to the present; so far止 = zhǐ
- 防止fáng zhǐto prevent; to guard against; to stop (something bad) from happening止 = zhǐ
- 阻止zǔ zhǐto stop; to prevent止 = zhǐspoken aszú zhǐ
- 止咳zhǐ kéto relieve a cough; cough-suppressing止 = zhǐ
- 止痒zhǐ yǎngto relieve itching止 = zhǐ
Go deeper
All readings
to stop
to stop; to halt; to bring to an end
停下来，不再继续。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 停止tíng zhǐto stop; to cease止 = zhǐ
- 禁止jìn zhǐto forbid; to prohibit止 = zhǐ
- 迄今为止qì jīn wéi zhǐup to the present; so far止 = zhǐ
- 防止fáng zhǐto prevent; to guard against; to stop (something bad) from happening止 = zhǐ
- 阻止zǔ zhǐto stop; to prevent止 = zhǐspoken aszú zhǐ
- 止咳zhǐ kéto relieve a cough; cough-suppressing止 = zhǐ
- 止痒zhǐ yǎngto relieve itching止 = zhǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 止 mean?
止 (zhǐ) means to stop; to halt; to bring to an end.
How do you pronounce 止?
It is pronounced zhǐ.
What parts is 止 made of?
㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+6B62 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 竖 / 横 / 竖 / 横). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 止 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 止?
止. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 止?
Common ones are 停止 and 禁止. The reading of 止 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.