Chinese word

起草

Pronunciation

Pinyinqǐ cǎo

Meaning

  • verbdraft

Example

我正在起草一封邮件。wǒ zhèng zài qí cǎo yì fēng yóu jiàn

I am drafting an email.

Illustration for 起草 (draft)

More examples

律师正在起草这份合同的条款。lǜ shī zhèng zài qí cǎo zhè fèn hé tóng de tiáo kuǎn

The lawyer is drafting the terms of this contract.

Core concept

Turn an intended message into a workable first version rather than a finished text.

Common phrases

  • 起草合同qí cǎo hé tóng

    draft a contract

  • 起草提案qí cǎo tí àn

    draft a proposal

  • 起草法律文书qí cǎo fǎ lǜ wén shū

    draft a legal document

Similar words

草拟cáo nǐ: Write a short outline of a document or plan to turn it into a proposal.
拟稿ní gǎo: Organize written content into a draft with a clear shape.
写草稿xiě cáo gǎo: Make a rough draft of a message or text in a casual, everyday way.

Definition in Chinese

开始写出用于讨论和修改的初步文本。kāi shǐ xiě chū yòng yú tǎo lùn hé xiū gǎi de chū bù wén běn

Word origin

起草 (qǐcǎo, "to draft") joins 起 (qǐ, "to start") to 草 (cǎo, "rough draft"), linking the start of writing with an unpolished version that can change.

Usage tips

  • In English, draft can name either an action or a document, while this Chinese verb names the action and fits sentences with a person or organization as the subject.

Opposites

Related words

  • 起草者qí cáo zhědrafternoun
  • 起草人qí cǎo réndrafternoun

Word lists with this word