Meaning
to rise; to raise; to get up
Chinese: 起来、开始。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “qi” becomes a different word in each tone. 起 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 一起yī qǐ(in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether
- 起来qǐ laito stand up; to get up
- 对不起duì bu qǐI'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down
- 起床qǐ chuángto get out of bed; to get up
- 想起xiǎng qǐto recall; to think of; to call to mind
Example Sentence
我每天七点起床。Wǒ měi tiān qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.I get up at seven every day.
我WǒI每天měi tiānevery day七qīseven点diǎnto touch briefly起床qǐ chuángto get out of bed。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The run/walk radical 走 (meaning) plus 己 (sound): to get the body up and moving — ‘to rise, get up, start, raise’.
A way to remember it
Get the legs (走) going — to rise, to start.