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开始

kāi shǐ
HSK 2.0 Level 2 HSK 3.0 Level 2 Verb Very common

Definitions

  1. 1. to begin
  2. 2. beginning
  3. 3. to start
  4. 4. initial

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Word relationships

Antonyms

2 items
结束
jié shù

termination

to end, to finish (antonym of 开始)
停止
tíng zhǐ

to stop; to halt; to cease

to stop, cease (antonym of 开始 when it means to start an action)

Synonyms

1 item
启动
qǐ dòng

to start (a machine)

to start (a machine, process, etc.), more formal or technical

Usage notes

Collocations

开始 is often followed by a verb phrase (e.g., 开始工作) or used with 了 to indicate action initiation.

Common mistakes

开始 cannot be followed directly by a noun as an object; use 开始+verb+noun structure instead.

Grammar

Guides that feature 开始

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1 guide
HSK 2.0 Level 3+ HSK 3.0 Level 3+ 5 min
Starting from a Point with 从……起

Use 从……起 to say that something starts at a certain time and carries on from then: 从明天起, 从下个月起.

Reading: kāi shǐ Open guide

Example Sentences

5 shown
我们 开始 倒数，十、九、八……
Let's start counting down: ten, nine, eight...
我们 开始 学习汉语。
We start learning Chinese.
他的头 开始 秃了。
His head is starting to go bald.
他去年 开始 创业，现在公司发展得不错。
He started his own business last year, and now the company is developing well.
第一幕 开始 了。
The first act begins.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 开始

从零开始
cóng líng kāi shǐ

to start from scratch

重新开始
chóng xīn kāi shǐ

to resume; to restart; to start afresh

开始以前
kāi shǐ yǐ qián

before the beginning (of sth)

开始比赛
kāi shǐ bǐ sài

to start a match

Child Words of 开始

开
kāi

to open

始
shǐ

to begin