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四起 (sì qǐ) — to occur or emerge in many places at once; to break out everywhere

Definition

四起 (sì qǐ) means trouble, crime, or rumors breaking out everywhere at once — always negative. It emphasizes the widespread, simultaneous emergence, not the cause or spread over time.

verb
to occur or emerge in many places at onceto break out everywhere

Examples

  • 四起，。
    Zuì jìn zhè ge chéng shì fàn zuì sì qǐ, jǐng fāng jiā qiáng xún luó.
    Recently, crimes have been breaking out everywhere in this city, and the police have increased patrols.
  • ，四起，。
    Dì zhèn hòu, gè dì zāi qíng sì qǐ, jiù yuán duì jǐn jí chū dòng.
    After the earthquake, disasters emerged in many places, and rescue teams were dispatched urgently.
  • 四起，。
    Wǎng luò zhà piàn àn jiàn sì qǐ, xiāng guān bù mén zhèng zài diào chá.
    Online fraud cases are popping up everywhere, and relevant departments are investigating.

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.

四sìall directions
起qǐrise

四 gives 'from all directions' and 起 gives 'rise', so events break out everywhere.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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
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