截止
jiézhǐ · HSK 6
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✂️🛑 截 cut + 止 stop = cut off here, full stop
Used for deadlines and expiration dates. The knife radical in 截 reinforces the sharpness of the boundary — nothing continues past a 截止日期 (deadline).
截 — semantic 戈 (halberd) + phonetic 雀 (sparrow, simplified to 隹 above 土)
截 originally depicts cutting with a dagger-axe (戈), giving the core meaning 'to cut off' or 'sever.' The 戈 component carries the meaning while the rest of the character supplies the sound. Over time it broadened to include senses like 'intercept,' 'block,' or 'a section/length' of something.
止 — pictograph of a foot/toe
止 originally depicted a human foot with toes, shown as a footprint on the ground. From this concrete image of a foot it came to mean 'to stop' or 'halt' — the place where a step ends. It also serves as a component in many characters relating to feet, walking, or stopping, such as 步 and 正.