另起炉灶 (lìng qǐ lú zào) — to start over from scratch; to make a fresh start (by discarding previous work or arrangements)

Definition

A set phrase meaning to discard the current setup and start completely over, often after a failure or major change.

idiom
to start over from scratchto make a fresh start (by discarding previous work or arrangements)

Examples

  • ，另起炉灶，。
    Gōng sī jīng yíng bú shàn, jué dìng lìng qǐ lú zào, quán bù yè wù chóng xīn guī huà.
    The company was poorly managed and decided to start over, replanning all its operations from scratch.
  • 另起炉灶，。
    Lí hūn hòu tā lìng qǐ lú zào, bān dào yí gè xīn chéng shì kāi shǐ shēng huó.
    After the divorce, he made a fresh start and moved to a new city to begin his life.
  • ，另起炉灶。
    Xiàng mù yǐ jīng shī bài le, bù rú lìng qǐ lú zào lìng xiǎng bàn fǎ.
    The project has already failed; we might as well start over and think of another approach.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

另起start another
另lìngseparately起qǐstart
偏正Modifier + head
炉灶stove
炉lústove灶zàostove
联合Side by side

“另起” means start another and “炉灶” means stove, so setting up a new stove means making a fresh start.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 另 →

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 →

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
盧
盧lú炉lú
Same sound today

The older form combines 火 (fire) with 盧 (lú) for its sound; the modern 炉 is a later shorthand.

Open 炉 →

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

灶 combines 火 (fire) and 土 (soil), showing a fire built on the earth as a stove.

Open 灶 →

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