Pinyin: qǐchū

English: at first, initially

HSK Level: 6 (1501 words at this level)

Tone Pattern: 3rd (dipping)

When to use: Use 起初 when you want to talk about at first. This word appears in everyday Mandarin conversations and is part of the HSK 6 core vocabulary of 1501 words.

The characters 起初 are part of the HSK 6 vocabulary list with 1501 words. Mastering this word helps build the foundation for reading, writing, and speaking Mandarin Chinese.

Each character has a specific stroke order and radical decomposition. AI Lingo Chat's application includes animated stroke order diagrams and native-speaker audio for all 3587 words across all 6 HSK levels.