ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to stop; to halt

zhǐ
4 strokes · 止 — pictograph: a footprint, toes and heel · HSK 3

Where 止 comes from

A foot printed on the ground — three toes above, the heel below. It first meant the foot itself and by extension going, then flipped to mean the opposite: where the foot comes down, it stays. Every character about walking still stands on it, 步 (a step) being two of these footprints one after the other.

止 in Chinese culture

止 is half of this app's name. 知止 — 'know where to stop' — opens a line in 《大学》: 知止而后有定, knowing where to stop brings stability. 停止 is to cease, 禁止 is forbidden, and 止步 on a sign means go no further.

Example

停止 tíngzhǐ — to stop; to cease

雨停止了。
Yǔ tíngzhǐ le.
The rain has stopped.

How to remember it

A FOOTPRINT pressed into the ground — the foot has come down, and it STOPS there.

止 is the 止 in 知止, the name of this app. 《大学》 opens with 知止而后有定 — knowing where to stop is what brings stability.

Same sound, different tones

1st zhī
to know
2nd zhí
straight
3rd zhǐ
to stop
4th zhì
will; ambition

Words unlocked by 止

停止 tíngzhǐ
to stop
禁止 jìnzhǐ
to forbid

Related characters

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