引起 (yǐn qǐ) — to cause, to lead to, to give rise to, to arouse | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Use 引起 when an event or action triggers a reaction, emotion, or further development (引起注意/麻烦/讨论). Broader and more neutral than 造成 or 导致, which usually point to a bad outcome.

verb

to causeto lead toto give rise toto arouse

Examples

引起。
Tā de xíng wéi yǐn qǐ le dà jiā de zhù yì.
His behavior attracted everyone's attention.
引起。
Zhè jiàn shì yǐn qǐ le hěn duō má fan.
This matter caused a lot of trouble.
引起。
Nà ge xiāo xi yǐn qǐ le quán gōng sī de tǎo lùn.
That news sparked discussion across the whole company.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

“引” (lead) and “起” (rise) together mean to cause something to arise.

Characters in this word

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

弓弓gōngbow
丿丿piěindicatory stroke

引 is made from 弓, a bow, and 丿, a short slant stroke added at the place where the string is pulled, marking the action of drawing or pulling.

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

走巳起

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Cause, Effect & Logic 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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