起草 (qǐ cǎo) — to draft (a document, plan, proposal); to draw… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

起草 (qǐcǎo) means to draft an initial version of a document, plan, or proposal — focused on the early-writing stage. Among siblings, 拟定 is the closest near-synonym; 制定 and 订 are for finalizing/formalizing rules, contracts, or policies.

verb

to draft (a document, plan, proposal)to draw up

Examples

起草。
Zhè fèn fǎ lǜ yóu zhuān jiā wěi yuán huì qǐ cǎo.
This law was drafted by an expert committee.
。
Wǒ men wèi gōng sī qǐ le yí fèn xiáng xì de jì huà cǎo.
We drafted a detailed plan for the company.
起草。
Qǐng nǐ xiān qǐ cǎo yí gè chū bù de fāng àn.
Please first draft a preliminary proposal.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

起 means make and 草 means draft, so it describes drawing up a document.

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.

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.

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

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

早zǎo草cǎo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Reading & Writing

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