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响起 (xiǎng qǐ) — to (begin to) sound, to ring out

Definition

A serial-verb construction: sound 响 (to ring) + aspect 起 (to start), meaning a noise or music begins to be heard. Distinguish from 响 alone, which just describes a continuous sound.

verb
to (begin to) soundto ring out

Examples

  • 响起。
    Huì chǎng lǐ xiǎng qǐ le rè liè de zhǎng shēng.
    Warm applause rang out in the meeting hall.
  • 响起，。
    Diàn huà tū rán xiǎng qǐ, bǎ wǒ xià le yí tiào.
    The phone suddenly rang, giving me a fright.
  • 响起，。
    Xià kè líng yì xiǎng qǐ, tóng xué men jiù chōng chū le jiào shì.
    As soon as the class-ending bell rang, the students rushed out of the classroom.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

响xiǎngring
起qǐrise

响起 joins 响 for ringing with 起 for rising, giving the sense of a sound coming out.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 響; 响 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
音音yīnsound
Sound part声符shēngfú
鄉
鄉xiāng響xiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 響 pairs 音, meaning sound, with 鄉 to give its pronunciation. The simplified 响 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 响 →

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →
Appears in
Senses

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