始 (shǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “beginning”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “beginning”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 台
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 始，女之初也。从女，台聲。
Memory aid
A woman (女) steps onto the platform (台) — the moment everything begins. 台 is here for its sound, not its meaning.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 开始kāi shǐto begin; to start; beginning始 = shǐHSK 2
Go deeper
All readings
beginning
beginning; start; to begin; only then
起头；开端；开始做某事。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 开始kāi shǐto begin; to start; beginning始 = shǐHSK 2
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 始 mean?
始 (shǐ) means beginning; start; to begin; only then.
How do you pronounce 始?
It is pronounced shǐ.
What parts is 始 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 始，女之初也。从女，台聲。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 始 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 始?
女. 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 始?
Common ones are 开始. The reading of 始 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.