起 (qǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to rise”. It is written from 走 (to walk; to go) and 己 (oneself), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to rise; to get up”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
走 + 己
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺走己，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：起 共 10 笔，笔画 0–6 为「走」，7–9 为「己」；《说文解字》起，能立也，从走巳声，现代规范字形右部写作「己」
Memory aid
To get up and walk (走) on your own — by oneself (己). Both parts really are in this character: the walk stretches underneath and carries 己 along: 起, to rise.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 起床qǐ chuángto get up; to get out of bed起 = qǐ
- 起飞qǐ fēito take off (of an aircraft)起 = qǐ
- 引起yǐn qǐto give rise to; to cause起 = qǐspoken asyín qǐHSK 4
- 抡起lūn qǐto swing up (an arm, a hammer, a stick)起 = qǐ
- 抬起tái qǐto lift up (an arm, a lid, a box)起 = qǐ
- 拎起līn qǐto lift up by hand; to pick up (by a handle)起 = qǐ
- 起伏qǐ fúto rise and fall; to undulate起 = qǐ
- 崛起jué qǐto rise abruptly; to emerge as a power起 = qǐ
- 捡起jiǎn qǐto pick up (from the ground)起 = qǐspoken asjián qǐ
- 掀起xiān qǐto lift up; to set off (a wave, a trend)起 = qǐ
Go deeper
All readings
to rise; to get up
to rise; to get up; to start; to raise; to take off
由躺、坐而站立或离开原位；开始；发生；升起。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 起床qǐ chuángto get up; to get out of bed起 = qǐ
- 起飞qǐ fēito take off (of an aircraft)起 = qǐ
- 引起yǐn qǐto give rise to; to cause起 = qǐspoken asyín qǐHSK 4
- 抡起lūn qǐto swing up (an arm, a hammer, a stick)起 = qǐ
- 抬起tái qǐto lift up (an arm, a lid, a box)起 = qǐ
- 拎起līn qǐto lift up by hand; to pick up (by a handle)起 = qǐ
- 起伏qǐ fúto rise and fall; to undulate起 = qǐ
- 崛起jué qǐto rise abruptly; to emerge as a power起 = qǐ
- 捡起jiǎn qǐto pick up (from the ground)起 = qǐspoken asjián qǐ
- 掀起xiān qǐto lift up; to set off (a wave, a trend)起 = qǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 起 mean?
起 (qǐ) means to rise; to get up; to start; to raise; to take off.
How do you pronounce 起?
It is pronounced qǐ.
What parts is 起 made of?
走 (to walk; to go) and 己 (oneself), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺走己，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：起 共 10 笔，笔画 0–6 为「走」，7–9 为「己」；《说文解字》起，能立也，从走巳声，现代规范字形右部写作「己」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 起 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 起?
走. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 起?
Common ones are 起床 and 起飞. The reading of 起 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.