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起手

Mandarin · pinyin qǐ shǒu

to set about (doing sth)

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Characters in this entry

起: qǐ · rise, stand up; go up; begin
手: shǒu · hand

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · qi3 shou3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hei2 sau2

Cantonese word readings for 起手. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to put one's hand to; to set about
to start armed struggle; to rise in rebellion
(Cantonese, Eastern Min) to begin; to start
(dialectal Mandarin, Singapore Hokkien) to raise one's hand

adv

at first; initially; in the beginning; originally

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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