Meaning
停止 means to stop or cease an action or activity. It's a formal, relatively serious way to say 'stop' in Chinese, often used for official announcements, warnings, or describing the ending of ongoing processes. Unlike the more casual 别 (bié) or 不要 (bù yào), 停止 emphasizes the termination of something already in progress.
Usage
停止 is more formal than everyday words like 停 (tíng) alone. It's commonly used in official contexts, news reports, legal language, and when describing the cessation of activities, operations, or behaviors. Native speakers use it when they want to sound authoritative or when discussing serious matters. It's often followed by a verb or noun phrase indicating what is being stopped.
Examples
- 01请立即停止这种危险的行为。.Please stop this dangerous behavior immediately.
- 02由于天气原因，比赛被迫停止了。, .Due to weather conditions, the competition was forced to stop.
Characters
Common collocations
- 停止工作to stop working
- 停止呼吸to stop breathing
- 立即停止to stop immediately
- 停止营业to cease business operations
Antonyms
Origin
Both characters relate to stopping: 停 originally depicted someone standing still, while 止 shows a foot stopping at a line. The compound reinforces the meaning of cessation.