起初

qǐ chū

HSK 6

Meaning

最初，开始的时候。

at first; originally; in the beginning.

通常用于叙述事情的开端，强调后来情况有变化或与初始状态不同。

Usually used to describe the beginning of something, emphasizing that the situation later changed or differed from the initial state.

1 起初我并不喜欢这个城市，但住久了就习惯了。 (At first I didn't like this city, but after living here for a while I got used to it.)
2 起初他只是一个小职员，后来成为了公司总裁。 (Originally he was just a clerk, later he became the president of the company.)
3 起初我以为这道题很简单，但实际上很难。 (At first I thought this problem was easy, but actually it was very difficult.)
4 起初他们不同意我们的计划，经过解释后终于同意了。 (At first they disagreed with our plan, but after explanation they finally agreed.)
5 起初天气很好，但下午突然下起了大雨。 (At first the weather was nice, but in the afternoon it suddenly rained heavily.)

Exam-style HSK drills with instant scoring and explanations.

Free · about 3 minutes · no account needed