The character 起 — “rise”: how to write it and what it means
rise, get up
The Chinese character 起 is read qǐ and means “rise, get up”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 起
起 has 10 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 起, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 起 is made of
On the left, 走 “walk”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 起
- 起床get upHSK 1
- 对不起sorryHSK 1
- 起来get up, riseHSK 2
- 一起togetherHSK 2
- 起飞take offHSK 3
- 引起cause, attractHSK 4
- 起到play (a role)HSK 4
- 提起mentionHSK 5
- 发起initiate, launchHSK 5
- 了不起amazing, remarkableHSK 5
- 起初at first, initiallyHSK 6
- 兴起rise, come into fashionHSK 6
- 起点starting point, startHSK 6
- 起源origin; originateHSK 6
- 看不起look down on, despiseHSK 6
- 看得起respect, think highly ofHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 起?
起 has 10 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 起 mean?
起 means “rise, get up”. It appears in 起床 (“get up”), 对不起 (“sorry”), 起来 (“get up”), 一起 (“together”).
How do you pronounce 起?
起 is read qǐ. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 起 have?
10 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 起 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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