How to Say Stop in French

There are a few ways to say "stop" in French, depending on what you mean.

Steps

1
Learn the verb for "to stop". It is arrêter (ah-reh-tay). It is conjugated as follows:
- j'arrête - I stop
- tu arrêtes - you (singular familiar) stop
- il arrête - he stops
- nous arrêtons - we stop
- vous arrêtez - you (plural and/or unfamiliar) stop
- ils arrêtent - they stop.
2
If you want to know the word for stop on a stop sign, it is:
- Arrête
- Stop (sometimes anglicized in both Europe and Quebec).
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3
To ask some to stop doing something, try the following:
- "Ne faites pas ça" or "arrête ça" – literally, "don't do that", or stop that!
- Ça suffit ! – that's enough!
- Arrête ! (Note that if writing it, the punctuation point involves a gap, which is French punctuation.)
- "Stop!" - said with a French intonation.
4
If talking about calling a stop to something, then use the word "halte".
- For example: "It is time to call a stop to this conversation. " and "il est temps de dire halte à cette conversation ".
- "Halte" also describes a stopping place.
5
If you want to say stop when interrupting, use the word "interrompre".
6
For asking someone to stop adding more, such as when saying "enough", use the word "assez" or "suffisamment".
7
If you're wanting to stop a thief by saying "Stop thief", there is a special term in French. It is "Au voleur !".

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