ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

始 shǐ start

How to remember 始: 女 woman + 台 platform = start. The woman climbs onto the platform with the pistol, and the runners hold still, waiting for her to start the race.

  • 381. most frequent character
  • HSK 2
  • 8 strokes
  • Radical 女

Component breakdown

始 = 女 woman + 台 platform

  • 女 woman
  • 台 platform
    • 厶 cocoon
    • 口 mouth
The Gushi story

The woman climbs onto the platform with the pistol, and the runners hold still, waiting for her to start the race.

How it is used

  • The "begin" root - 开始 (kāishǐ) begin/start is the everyday word; 始 rarely stands alone.
  • In formal set phrases it means "from the start" - 始终 (shǐzhōng) all along, 自始至终 (zìshǐ-zhìzhōng) from start to finish. 原始 (yuánshǐ) = primitive/original.

Words with 始

Example sentences

  • 新学期开始了。 Xīn xuéqī kāishǐ le.The new semester has started.
  • 演出开始了。 Yǎnchū kāishǐ le.The performance has started.
  • 午饭才刚开始。 Wǔfàn cái gāng kāishǐ.Lunch has just started.
  • 药开始起作用了。 Yào kāishǐ qǐ zuòyòng le.The medicine began to take effect.