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  3. HSK Level 6
  5. 起初

起初 (qǐ chū): Originally (Noun) — Meaning & Stroke Order

HSK 2.0Level 6
HSK 3.0Level 6
1.

Animated Stroke Order

Stroke order SVGs for the characters in 起初.

Stroke order animation for 起初
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Practice writing 起初 (qǐ chū) with a free printable worksheet

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2.

Character Breakdown

起初 consists of 2 characters.

起
qǐ
to rise, to get up, to start
初
chū
beginning, start, first

Word Info

Pinyinqǐ chū
Meaningoriginally; at first; in the beginning
Characters2
HSK 2.0Level 6
HSK 3.0Level 6
SyntaxNoun
Word起初
Zodiac CalculatorFind your zodiac animal

HSK 6 Words

More vocabulary at the same HSK level as 起初.

  • 财政cái zhènggovernment finance; public economy
  • 伯母bó mǔaunt [wife of father's elder brother]
  • 仓促cāng cùhastily; hurriedly
  • 被告bèi gàodefendant; the accused
  • 边缘biān yuánborder; edge; fringe; margin
  • 爱戴ài dàilove and esteem; respect and support
  • 崩溃bēng kuìbreakdown; collapse; disintegrate
  • 偶像ǒu xiàngidol
  • 不顾bú gùdisregard; in spite of
  • 便利biàn lìconvenient; easy
  • 饱经沧桑bǎo jīng cāng sānghave lived through many changes
  • 残忍cán rěncruel; ruthless; merciless
View all HSK 6 words →

Related Words

More HSK vocabulary that shares characters with 起初.

Words with 起
  • 对不起duì bu qǐHSK 1
  • 一起yì qǐHSK 2
  • 起床qǐ chuángHSK 2
  • 起来qǐ laiHSK 3
  • 起飞qǐ fēiHSK 3
  • 引起yǐn qǐHSK 4
起到
qǐ dào
HSK 4
  • 发起fā qǐHSK 5
    • Words with 初
    • 初中chū zhōngHSK 3
    • 初期chū qīHSK 5
    • 初级chū jíHSK 5
    • 年初nián chūHSK 5
    • 最初zuì chūHSK 5
    • 初步chū bùHSK 6
    • 初等chū děngHSK 6
    • 当初dāng chūHSK 6
    3.

    How to Use 起初 in Sentences

    Common collocations & usage patterns. Learn how to combine 起初 with other words naturally.

    Adjective + Noun
    qǐ起
    chū初
    jiē阶
    duàn段
    neutral
    initial stage
    qǐ起
    chū初
    de的
    jì计
    huà划
    neutral
    initial plan
    Adverb + Verbwith以为
    qǐ起
    chū初
    yǐ以
    wéi为
    Preposition + Nounwith从
    cóng从
    qǐ起
    chū初
    formalWritten
    4.

    Example Sentences with 起初

    qǐ起
    chū初
    ，
    wǒ我
    bù不
    xǐ喜
    huān欢
    zhè
    neutral
    initially thought
    from the beginning
    这
    ge个
    yóu游
    xì戏
    。
    At first, I didn't like this game.
    qǐ起
    chū初
    ，
    wǒ我
    duì对
    zhè这
    ge个
    fù复
    zá杂
    de的
    xiàng项
    mù目
    chí持
    huái怀
    yí疑
    tài态
    dù度
    。
    At first, I was skeptical about this complex project.
    nǐ你
    qǐ起
    chū初
    shì是
    zěn怎
    me么
    xiǎng想
    dào到
    zhè这
    ge个
    jué绝
    miào妙
    de的
    zhǔ主
    yì意
    de的
    ？
    How did you originally come up with this brilliant idea?
    qǐ起
    chū初
    tā他
    yǒu有
    diǎn点
    jǐn紧
    zhāng张
    ，
    dàn但
    hòu后
    lái来
    jiù就
    fàng放
    sōng松
    le了
    。
    He was a bit nervous at first, but then he relaxed.
    qǐ起
    chū初
    wǒ我
    bìng并
    bú不
    zàn赞
    tóng同
    tā他
    de的
    guān观
    diǎn点
    ，
    dàn但
    hòu后
    lái来
    bèi被
    shuō说
    fú服
    le了
    。
    I did not agree with his viewpoint at first, but was later convinced.
    qǐ起
    chū初
    tā他
    jiān坚
    jué决
    fǎn反
    duì对
    ，
    rán然
    ér而
    jīng经
    guò过
    shēn深
    sī思
    shú熟
    lǜ虑
    hòu后
    gǎi改
    biàn变
    le了
    zhǔ主
    yì意
    。
    He was firmly opposed at first, but changed his mind after careful consideration.
    qǐ起
    chū初
    wǒ我
    men们
    jì计
    huà划
    zhōu周
    mò末
    qù去
    pá爬
    shān山
    ，
    dàn但
    yīn因
    wèi为
    xià下
    yǔ雨
    qǔ取
    xiāo消
    le了
    。
    Initially we planned to go hiking this weekend, but canceled due to rain.
    qǐ起
    chū初
    wǒ我
    yǐ以
    wéi为
    zhè这
    zhǐ只
    shì是
    gè个
    xiǎo小
    má麻
    fán烦
    ，
    méi没
    xiǎng想
    dào到
    hòu后
    guǒ果
    zhè这
    me么
    yán严
    zhòng重
    。
    I originally thought it was just a minor issue, but didn't expect the consequences to be so serious.