Meaning of 开始
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to begin; to start
- beginning; start
How to use 开始
开始 works as a verb meaning to start, and it can be followed by a noun or another verb. It also works as a noun meaning the beginning, as in 一开始 (yī kāishǐ), at first. Example: 我们八点开始上课。(Wǒmen bā diǎn kāishǐ shàngkè.) We start class at eight.
Think of 开 (kāi) as opening a door and 始 (shǐ) as the starting point. When you open the door to something new, you begin it.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 开始 with 开 alone. In 开车 (kāichē), 开会 (kāihuì) and 开心 (kāixīn), 开 does not mean begin. It means drive, hold or open up. Also keep the tones: kāi is first tone and shǐ is third tone, not shí.
开始 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
开 kāi · to open · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
始 shǐ · to begin · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 开始.
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open; to show (a ticket) |
| 开玩笑 | kāi wánxiào | to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke |
| 开车 | kāichē | to drive a car (or train etc); (slang) to post sexual content online; to make a sexual jok |
| 开会 | kāihuì | to hold or attend a meeting |
| 离开 | líkāi | to depart; to leave |
| 开心 | kāixīn | to feel happy; to rejoice |
| 走开 | zǒukāi | to leave; to walk away; to beat it; to move aside |
| 分开 | fēnkāi | to separate; to part |
| 开学 | kāixué | (of a student) to start school; (of a semester) to begin |
| 开机 | kāijī | to start an engine; to boot up (a computer) |
| 公开 | gōngkāi | open; overt; public; to make public; to release |
| 解开 | jiěkāi | to untie; to undo |
Questions about 开始
What does 开始 mean?
开始 (kāishǐ) means "to begin; to start; beginning; start" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 开始?
开始 is made of 2 characters: 开 (4 strokes), 始 (8 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 开始 an HSK word?
Yes. 开始 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 开始 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 开始 is written 開始.
What is the difference between 开始 and 开头?
开始 is the general word for begin and is mostly used as a verb. 开头 (kāitóu) usually means the opening part of something, like the start of a story or an article.
Can 开始 be followed directly by a verb?
Yes. You can say 开始学习 (kāishǐ xuéxí), to start studying, or 开始下雨了 (kāishǐ xià yǔ le), it started raining. No extra word is needed between 开始 and the verb.