止す
よす · yosu · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to cease
🛑 止 is the stop kanji; yosu sounds like yo, stop it, so give it up
止 is the kanji on Japanese stop signs (止まれ, tomare). よす is a casual verb for quitting something, as in よせ, cut it out. Hook: yo, su(top) means yo, stop.
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.