About
The character 起, whose traditional form is identical in this case, is constructed from the components 走, meaning to walk or run, and 己, which originally represented a kneeling figure, later stylized. This combination conveys the core idea of a person rising to their feet and beginning to move, a concept that has consistently informed its range of meanings. From this foundational sense of physically getting up or rising, its application broadened to encompass more abstract notions of initiation, such as an affair beginning to happen, a building being erected, or a force starting to emerge. Over time, it developed into a versatile verb covering causation, as in to raise or to start something, and also functions as a directional and inceptive complement attached to other verbs to indicate the commencement of an action, thereby retaining its fundamental semantic link to the point of origin and upward or forward movement.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我早上起床。
他想起一件事。
太阳从东方升起。
我们一起学习中文。
他站起来回答问题。
这个故事起源于古代。
经济发展引起了变化。
他突然想起昨天发生的事情。