初期 (chū qī) — initial stage; early period | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

初期 is a noun meaning 'initial stage' of a process or situation, used like a period name (…的初期, 初期+verb). Compared with 早期, 初期 focuses on the very start of something, while 早期 covers a broader early stretch.

noun

initial stageearly period

Examples

初期，。
Zài xiàng mù de chū qī, wǒ men zuò le hěn duō yán jiū.
In the initial stage of the project, we did a lot of research.
初期。
Zhè zhǒng bìng de chū qī zhèng zhuàng bú suàn míng xiǎn.
The early symptoms of this disease are not very obvious.
初期。
chū qī De xué xí jì huà xū yào jiǎn dān yì xiē.
The initial learning plan needs to be simpler.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

初chūbeginning

期qīperiod

初 means beginning, and 期 means period; together it names the early period.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

衤刀初

衤衣yīclothes
刀刀dāoknife; to cut

初 combines 衤 (clothes) and 刀 (knife), showing the start of making clothes by cutting cloth.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Time (Abstract)

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