originally; at first; in the beginning (n.)
HSK 6
Traditional
起初 (unaltered)
Radicals
Stroke order
Examples
他们起初并不同意这个计划。 tāmen qǐchū bìng bù tóngyì zhège jìhuà. - They initially didn’t agree with this plan.
起初，我对这个想法持怀疑态度。 qǐchū, wǒ duì zhège xiǎngfǎ chí huáiyí tàidù. - At first, I was skeptical about this idea.
他们的关系起初很紧张。 tāmen de guānxì qǐchū hěn jǐnzhāng. - Their relationship was initially tense.
这个公司起初只有几个员工。 zhège gōngsī qǐchū zhǐ yǒu jǐ gè yuángōng. - The company initially had only a few employees.
起初的困难使他们更加团结。 qǐchū de kùnnán shǐ tāmen gèngjiā tuánjié. - The initial difficulties made them more united.
Characters
起 qǐ - (begin) from; rise, get up; occur, start; break out; build; draft, draw out; (used after a verb) move upwards |
初 chū - first (in order), primary |