How to Write 始 (shǐ) — Meaning “begin; start”

Imagine a woman (女) standing on a platform (台) ready to "start" a race. The picture of her at the starting line helps you link the shape to the meaning "begin."

Start with the left radical 女: write three strokes (𡿨, 丿, 一) then the right side 台: first two strokes for 厶 (𠃋, 丶) and finally the mouth 口 in three strokes. A common mistake is making the 女 too wide or forgetting the left-slanting stroke before the horizontal one.

始 (begin) uses 台 on the right, while 奸 (wicked) uses 干 (dry/shield) and 她 (she) uses 也 (also). Visually, the right side of 始 has a top part 厶 and a square 口 below; 奸 has a simple 干 (two strokes horizontal+vertical), and 她 has 也 (a hook shape). Meaning-wise, only 始 relates to starting or origin.

始 appears in common words like 开始 (to start) and 始终 (from start to finish). It often marks the beginning of an action or time period. In Chinese culture, 始 has a philosophical note: the Dao De Jing says "道生一，一生二" implying that 始 represents the first stage of creation.

Common words containing 始 include: 开始 (kāi shǐ) — to start; to begin; 原始 (yuán shǐ) — primitive; original; 始终 (shǐ zhōng) — from beginning to end; all along.