How to Write 停 (tíng) — Meaning “to stop; to park; to halt”

Picture a person (亻) walking and then sitting under a small pavilion (亭) to take a break. The pavilion’s roof and structure look like a shelter where you naturally halt, so 停 visually reminds you of stopping for a rest.

Write the left radical 亻 first with two strokes, then the right part 亭. In 亭, pay attention to the vertical hook (丁) at the bottom—it should extend straight down, not curve. A common mistake is making the top of 亭 too wide or forgetting the dot above the first horizontal stroke.

停 (tíng) means 'to stop' and contains 亭 (pavilion), while 侮 (wǔ) means 'to insult' and contains 每 (every) on the right. 侯 (hóu) means 'marquis' and has a right side with 矢 (arrow) and a short horizontal stroke. Visually, 停 has a balanced square shape, 侮 is taller, and 侯 has a diagonal stroke in the middle.

停 appears in everyday phrases like 停车 (to park a car), 停止 (to stop an action), and 停电 (power outage). You’ll often see it on parking signs and traffic commands. In Chinese culture, 停 is also used in public announcements to indicate halting activity, such as 停课 (suspension of classes) during emergencies.

Common words containing 停 include: 停车 (tíng chē) — To park a car; 停止 (tíng zhǐ) — to stop; to cease; to halt; 停电 (tíng diàn) — Power outage.