zhǐ

(foot), stop

Original meaning: 

foot

Pictograph of a foot. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "stop".

Evolution

止 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
止 Bronze script Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze script

Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
止 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
止 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
止 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

zhǐ

stop, halt, desist; detain; to stop; to prohibit; until; only

Most common words with 止
Freq.
Word
Meaning

阻止

to prevent

停止

to stop

为止

until

防止

to prevent

禁止

to prohibit

Component uses

Meaning component in 9 characters (5 verified)

Sound component in 14 characters (9 verified)

齿

Iconic component in 18 characters (18 verified)

𧾷

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*təʔ

tsyiX

zhǐ

foot; stop


Statistics

HSK level 6

Appears in 77.9433% of movies

467th most common character in movies

596th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

4

Unicode

U+6B62

Shuowen

“止,下基也。象艸木出有址,故以止為足。”


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons License