立ち止まる and 止まる: pausing while walking and a general stop
Compare stopping in front of an information board to read a map with a clock that has stopped, without adding sitting down to 立ち止まる.
Stopping while walking
立ち止まる, read たちどまる, means stopping while walking. 案内板の前で立ち止まって、地図を読みました。 says that someone stopped in front of the information board and read the map.
道の途中で立ち止まりました。 says that someone stopped walking along the way. 道, read みち, identifies the route without specifying the pause’s duration.
A person, vehicle, or object stops
止まる, read とまる, broadly describes movement or operation stopping. 時計が止まっています。 says that the clock has stopped and is not running.
バスが門の前で止まりました。 says that the bus stopped in front of the gate. Do not mechanically replace a vehicle’s stop with 立ち止まる for stopping on foot.
The pause and what happened afterward
立ち止まっただけで、椅子には座っていません。 says that someone only stopped walking and has not sat on the chair. Stopping does not itself establish a seated rest.
立ち止まらずに通り過ぎました。 says that someone passed by without stopping. ずに negates the stopping action, so do not read it as 立ち止まった.
Does 案内板の前で立ち止まりました。 establish that the person sat on a chair to rest?
Show the answer and why
No. It says that the person stopped walking in front of the information board. Sitting and resting need separate information.