Nihoner
漢字 Kanji list Games
Log in Play Kanji Duel

Stop

On’yomi
Kun’yomiと.まる・-ど.まり・と.める・-と.める・-ど.め
MeaningsStop, Halt
JLPT N4 4 strokes #309 most common Grade 2 Radical stop
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 止

Stroke order is not decoration — it determines how the character looks handwritten and how dictionaries index it.

4 strokes
✎ Now write it yourself

Draw it on screen and be marked on stroke order and direction.

分解 · What it is made of

The parts of 止

Almost every kanji is built from a small set of reusable parts. Learn the parts once and you stop memorising thousands of unrelated shapes.

部首 · Radical

The radical of 止

Radical 77 of 214
Stop

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 止 is filed under (stop) — radical number 77 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 止

練習 · Practice

Drill 止 right now

Three quick games built from this character's real data. Your streak is kept in this browser.

0Streak
0Best
0Correct
Tap to reveal
Stop し と.まる・-ど.まり・と.める・-と.める・-ど.め
What does it mean?
Which kanji is it?
熟語 · In real words

Words that use 止

Kanji are almost never met alone. These are the most common words built from this character, ordered by how often they actually appear in Japanese.

防止 ぼうし prevention; check
禁止 きんし prohibition; inhibition; ban
停止 ていし stoppage; coming to a stop; halt
中止 ちゅうし interruption; discontinuance; suspension
廃止 はいし abolition; discontinuance; discontinuation
歯止め はどめ brake; drag; skid
阻止 そし obstruction; prevention; hindrance
沮止 そし obstruction; prevention; hindrance
受け止める うけとめる to catch; to stop the blow; to react to
差止 さしとめ prohibition; ban; suspension
名乗り · Name readings

How 止 is read in names

Japanese names use readings that appear nowhere else in the language. These are 止's — the reason personal and place names are so hard to read even for native speakers.

どめ
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 止

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 止 — learn them together, not separately.

画数 · 4 strokes

Other 4-stroke kanji

Useful when looking a character up by stroke count — and a common source of visual mix-ups.

頻度 · Frequency

Next in the frequency list

止 is the 309th most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

Think you know which kanji is more common?

Kanji Duel pits 止 and 3,000 others head to head. One life. How long can you last?

Enter the Duel →
質問 · Questions

About the kanji 止

What does the kanji 止 mean?

止 means Stop, Halt. It is the 309th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 止?

止 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) し; kun'yomi (native Japanese) と.まる、-ど.まり、と.める、-と.める、-ど.め.

How many strokes does 止 have?

止 is written with 4 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 止?

It appears at JLPT level N4, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 2.

What is the radical of 止?

The radical of 止 is 止 (stop), radical number 77 of the 214 Kangxi radicals. The radical is the component a dictionary files the character under, and it usually points at the character's meaning.

What words use the kanji 止?

Common words written with 止 include 防止 (ぼうし, prevention; check); 禁止 (きんし, prohibition; inhibition; ban); 停止 (ていし, stoppage; coming to a stop; halt).

Which kanji sound the same as 止?

止 shares a reading with 自 (し), 市 (し), 四 (し), 子 (し), 氏 (し), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

None of this is being saved

Signed in, we would remember every character you have looked at — and write you reading you can actually get through, built from exactly those.

Start remembering — free
Free account · 3 passages a day · no card