Chinese word

起步

Pronunciation

Pinyinqǐ bù

Meaning

  • verbset off

Example

我们早上七点起步去爬山。wǒ men zǎo shàng qī diǎn qǐ bù qù pá shān

We set off at 7 a.m. to go hiking.

Illustration for 起步 (set off)

More examples

红灯一变绿，汽车缓慢起步。hóng dēng yí biàn lǜ qì chē huǎn màn qǐ bù

When the red light turns green, the car slowly starts moving.

Core concept

The point where a person, vehicle, or undertaking leaves its starting position and enters action.

Common phrases

  • 车辆起步chē liàng qǐ bù

    move off

  • 项目起步xiàng mù qǐ bù

    begin

  • 稳步起步wěn bù qǐ bù

    start steadily

Similar words

出发chū fā: Leave a place to begin a journey or an activity.
开始kāi shǐ: Begin an action, activity, or process.
动身dòng shēn: Move off toward a destination.
起程qǐ chéng: Set out on a journey or trip.

Definition in Chinese

从静止状态开始移动，尤指抬脚迈步或车辆发动的第一个动作，也可借指任何行动的开端。cóng jìng zhǐ zhuàng tài kāi shǐ yí dòng yóu zhǐ tái jiǎo mài bù huò chē liàng fā dòng de dì yí gè dòng zuò yě kě jiè zhǐ rèn hé xíng dòng de kāi duān

Word origin

起步 (qǐbù, "start moving") joins the ideas of rising into motion and taking a step, so the word naturally extends from a first footstep to the start of a larger process.

Usage tips

  • 起步阶段 (qǐbù jiēduàn, "initial stage") commonly describes the early phase of a career, business, or project, where progress is only getting underway.

Other meanings

  • beginverb
  • beginningnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word