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起 qǐ — “to get up, to rise”

How to write and say the Chinese character 起 (qǐ), which means to get up, to rise — with stroke order, audio, its story, and an example sentence. Theme: Come & go.

Pinyin · 拼音 qǐ
Meaning · 意思 to get up, to rise
Strokes · 笔画 10
Radical · 部首 走 (walk)
Hear it · 听发音
Watch it drawn stroke by stroke →

Stroke order笔顺

起 is written with 10 strokes, in this order (the red stroke is the one being added):

The story behind it字源小故事

走 (walk) hints at the meaning, and 己 lends its sound — together they make 起.

A common word常用词

起qǐ床chuáng

get out of bed

Example sentence例句

我wǒ每měi天tiān七qī点diǎn起qǐ床chuáng。

I get up at seven every day.

This page is part of the free Chinese character explorer from Casey Foundation Chinese School — a Saturday community Chinese school in Narre Warren, Victoria, serving Berwick, Cranbourne, Hallam and families across Melbourne's southeast. New students get a free trial lesson.