防止

fáng zhǐ

prevent; guard against

HSK Level 3

Example Sentences

为了防止疾病的传播,我们应该经常洗手。

wèile fángzhǐ jíbìng de chuánbò, wǒmen yīnggāi jīngcháng xǐshǒu.

To prevent the spread of disease, we should wash our hands frequently.

为了防止火灾,我们应该注意用火安全。

wèile fángzhǐ huǒzāi, wǒmen yīnggāi zhùyì yònghuǒ ānquán.

To prevent fires, we should pay attention to fire safety.

为了防止盗窃,我们应该锁好门窗。

wèile fángzhǐ dàoqiè, wǒmen yīnggāi suǒhǎo ménchuāng.

To prevent theft, we should lock our doors and windows.

Synonyms

预防 (yùfáng)

prevent

避免 (bìmiǎn)

avoid

Antonyms

允许 (yǔnxǔ)

allow

赞成 (zànchéng)

approve

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 防止 (fángzhǐ) is composed of two characters: 防 (fáng) and 止 (zhǐ). The character 防 originally meant "to prepare for defense" or "to guard against". It is composed of the radical 阜 (fù), which means "mound" or "hill", and the phonetic component 旁 (páng), which is a variant of the character 旁 (páng), meaning "side" or "beside". The character 止 originally meant "to stop" or "to cease". It is composed of the radical 止 (zhǐ), which means "to stop", and the phonetic component 止 (zhǐ), which is a variant of the character 止 (zhǐ), meaning "to stop".When combined, the two characters 防 and 止 form the word 防止 (fángzhǐ), which means "to prevent" or "to guard against". The word 防止 is used in a variety of contexts to express the idea of taking measures to prevent something from happening or to protect against something. For example, it can be used to say "to prevent a fire" (防止火灾), "to prevent theft" (防止偷窃), or "to prevent illness" (防止疾病).

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