站住
zhàn zhù · HSK 2
to stand
🛑 站 = stand + 住 = stop/stay; literally 'stand-stay' = halt right there
站 (zhàn) means to stand; 住 (zhù) means to stop or stay put. Together 站住 is a sharp command: stop where you are, don't move. Common shout from police or parents chasing a runner.
站 — 立 (stand) + 占 (zhàn, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 立 'to stand' gives the meaning, while 占 supplies the sound zhàn. Originally meaning 'to stand upright,' it later extended to 'a place where one stops or stands,' giving modern senses like station or stop.
住 — person radical 亻 + 主 (master/zhǔ, phonetic)
住 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 亻 (person) gives the meaning—something a person does—while 主 supplies the sound, originally 'zhǔ' (master, a lamp standing in place). Together they suggest a person staying put, yielding the senses 'to live, dwell, reside, stop'.