开始 (kāishǐ) means Begin (start). Below are 18 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
From the graded readers
两年前，我决定 开始 跑步。
liǎng niánqián, wǒ juédìng kāishǐ pǎobù.
Two years ago I decided to start running.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Keeping Up Running
刚 开始 的时候，我觉得有点儿累。
gāng kāishǐ de / dì shíhou, wǒ juéde yǒudiǎn ér lèi / léi / lěi.
At first I found that a bit tiring.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My Chinese Teacher
刚 开始 休息的时候，我特别不习惯。
gāng kāishǐ xiūxi de / dì shíhou, wǒ tèbié bù xíguàn.
At first I found resting extremely uncomfortable.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Facing Pressure
刚 开始 说的时候，我心里很不舒服。
gāng kāishǐ shuō de / dì shíhou, wǒ xīnlǐ hěn bù shūfu.
The first few times I said it, it felt awful.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Learning to Say No
如果我不 开始 ，五年以后我还是三十五岁。
rúguǒ wǒ bù kāishǐ, wǔ nián yǐhòu wǒ háishì sānshí wǔ suì.
If I didn't start, in five years I'd be thirty-five anyway.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Decision at Thirty
他们说：“三十岁了，现在 开始 会不会太晚？”
tāmen shuō:" sānshí suì le / liǎo / liào, xiànzài kāishǐ huìbùhuì tài wǎn?"
They said, "You're thirty — isn't it a bit late to start now?"
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Decision at Thirty
我们认识四年了，从大学一年级 开始 就住在一个宿舍。
wǒmen rènshi sìnián le / liǎo / liào, cóng dàxué yī niánjí kāishǐ jiù zhù zài yīgè sùshè.
We'd known each other four years, sharing a dorm since our first year at university.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Saying Goodbye
三十岁生日那天，我做了一个决定：我要重新 开始 学画画。
sānshí suì shēngrì nà / nèi tiān, wǒ zuòle yīgè juédìng: wǒ yāo chóngxīn kāishǐ xué huà huà.
On my thirtieth birthday I made a decision: I was going to start learning to paint again.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Decision at Thirty
如果我现在 开始 ，五年以后我三十五岁，也许能画得不错。
rúguǒ wǒ xiànzài kāishǐ, wǔ nián yǐhòu wǒ sānshí wǔ suì, yěxǔ néng huà dé / děi / de búcuò.
If I started now, in five years I'd be thirty-five and could probably paint quite well.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Decision at Thirty
那位老先生跟我说：“我七年前 开始 的。我唯一后悔的是没有更早 开始 。”
nàiwèi lǎo xiānsheng gēn wǒ shuō:" wǒ qī niánqián kāishǐ de / dì. wǒ wéi / wěi yī hòuhuǐ de / dì shì méiyǒu gèng / gēng zǎo kāishǐ."
The elderly gentleman said to me, "I started seven years ago. My only regret is not starting sooner."
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Decision at Thirty
然后我做了一件我自己都没想到的事：我笑着说，“对不起，我太紧张了，我们重新 开始 。”
ránhòu wǒ zuòle yíjiàn wǒ zìjǐ dōu méi xiǎngdào de / dì shì: wǒ xiào zhāo / zhaó / zhe / zhù / zhuó shuō," duìbuqǐ, wǒ tài jǐnzhāng le / liǎo / liào, wǒmen chóngxīn kāishǐ."
Then I did something I hadn't expected of myself: I smiled and said, "Sorry, I'm too nervous — let's start again."
Graded reader · HSK 4 · My First Speech
From the travel phrasebook
Questions about 开始
How is 开始 used in a sentence?
This page shows 18 sentences using 开始 (kāishǐ, "Begin (start)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Is 开始 an HSK word?
Yes — 开始 is on the official HSK 2 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 2 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 开始?
The dictionary page for 开始 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
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