止步
zhǐ bù · HSK 7
to halt
🛑🚶 止步 = 止 (stop) + 步 (step/pace): your steps stop, you go no farther
止 means stop and 步 means step or pace. Put them together and your stepping stops, so you halt and go no farther. 止 also sits inside 步 itself, doubling down on the stopping.
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.
步 — two feet: 止 (foot) on top + 止 inverted below
Originally a pictograph showing two footprints, one above the other, representing the act of walking step by step. The top 止 is a left foot and the bottom is a right foot, capturing alternating strides. The meaning extended from 'step' to 'pace,' 'stage,' or 'walk.'