始
Tap the pinyin to hear it
to begin; to start; then; only then
- HSK 3.0
- Level 3
- Old HSK
- Level 2
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 女 +5
- Structure
- Left–right 左右
- Traditional
- 始
- Common rank
- #1,292
- Unicode
- U+59CB
Sound it out + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
Words with 始
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 千里之行，始于足下 | lit. a thousand mile journey begins with the first step; fig. big accomplishments come fro… | |
| 重新开始 | to resume; to restart; to start afresh | |
| 原始热带雨林 | virgin tropical rainforest | |
| 报本反始 | ensure that you pay debts of gratitude (idiom) | |
| 一元复始 | a new year begins (idiom) | |
| 原始人 | primitive man; prehistoric human | |
| 原始社会 | primitive society | |
| 始新世 | Eocene (geological epoch from 55m-34m years ago) | |
| 原始林 | old growth forest; primary forest; original forest cover | |
| 始业式 | school opening ceremony (to mark the start of a semester) (Tw) | |
| 周而复始 | lit. the cycle comes back to the start (idiom); to move in circles; the wheel comes full c… | |
| 始兴县 | Shixing, a county in Shaoguan City 韶關市|韶关市[Shao2 guan1 Shi4], Guangdong | |
| 有始无终 | to start but not finish (idiom); to fail to carry things through; lack of sticking power; … | |
| 有始有终 | where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom); to finish once one starts sth; to carry t… | |
| 摩登原始人 | The Flintstones (TV Series) | |
| 始终如一 | unswerving from start to finish (idiom) | |
| 始新统 | Eocene system (geology) | |
| 建始县 | Jianshi, a county in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture 恩施土家族苗族自治州[En1 shi1 Tu3 ji… | |
| 自始 | from the outset; ab initio | |
| 始发 | (of trains etc) to set off (on a journey); to start (being issued or circulated); to start… |
Sound family
Characters sharing the sound component 台 — compare how they read.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 台 sound part | platform; unit; term of address | |
| 胎 | embryo, fetus; car tire | |
| 抬 | to carry, to lift, to raise | |
| 怡 | gladness, joy, pleasure; harmony | |
| 苔 | moss, lichen | |
| 笞 | bamboo rod used for beatings | |
| 贻 | to hand down, to give to, to bequeath | |
| 怠 | idle; negligent, remiss; to neglect | |
| 殆 | almost, probably; danger, peril; to endanger | |
| 饴 | syrup; sweet-meat, sweet-cake | |
| 眙 | to gaze at; a place name | |
| 鲐 | mackerel; Pneumatophorus japonicus | |
| 跆 | to trample, to kick | |
| 炱 | soot | |
| 绐 | to pretend, to fool, to cheat | |
| 诒 | to bequeath, to pass on | |
| 迨 | while, until; to seize, to arrest | |
| 邰 | a state in Shanxi province; surname | |
| 骀 | tired old horse; tired, exhaused |