Japanese symbol for “desist”

止す

よす

Romaji: yosu

to stop (doing); to cease; to desist; to drop

In Japanese, desist is 止す, read よす (yosu).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

v5s, vt to stop (doing); to cease; to desist; to drop; to lay off; to give up

Kanji and stroke order

止

stop, halt

on: シ
kun: と.まる、-ど.まり、と.める、-と.める

4 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
禁止	きんし kinshi	prohibition; inhibition; ban
停止	ていし teishi	stoppage; coming to a stop; halt
中止	ちゅうし chuushi	interruption; discontinuance; suspension
止まる	とまる tomaru	to stop (moving); to come to a stop
防止	ぼうし boushi	prevention; check
廃止	はいし haishi	abolition; discontinuance; discontinuation

See also: Chinese symbol for “desist”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.