Meaning
begin
Chinese: 开始、起初。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “shi” becomes a different word in each tone. 始 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
- 开始kāi shǐto begin; beginning; to start; initial
- 始终shǐ zhōngfrom beginning to end; all along
- 原始yuán shǐfirst; original; primitive; original (document etc)
- 创始人chuàng shǐ réncreator; founder; initiator
- 自始至终zì shǐ zhì zhōngfrom start to finish (idiom)
Example Sentence
电影八点开始。Diàn yǐng bā diǎn kāi shǐ.The movie starts at eight.
电影Diàn yǐngmovie八bāeight点diǎnto touch briefly开始kāi shǐto begin。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The woman radical 女 plus 台 (sound): ‘the beginning, start; to begin; only then, not until’ (开始, 始终, 始末).
A way to remember it
‘Beginning / to start’: 开始 (begin), 始终 (from start to end).