止
止 — Stop
stop, halt
On’yomiシ (shi)
Kun’yomiとまる (tomaru)
Kun’yomi-どまり (domari)
Kun’yomiとめる (tomeru)
Kun’yomi-とめる (tomeru)
Kun’yomi-どめ (dome)
Stroke order (4 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 止
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 禁止 | きんし kinshi | prohibition; inhibition; ban |
| 停止 | ていし teishi | stoppage; coming to a stop; halt |
| 防止 | ぼうし boushi | prevention; check |
| 中止 | ちゅうし chuushi | interruption; discontinuance; suspension |
| 廃止 | はいし haishi | abolition; discontinuance; discontinuation |
| 歯止め | はどめ hadome | brake; drag; skid |
Study notes
止 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 4 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #310 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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