初步

chūbù

adjective HSK 3 #7,158

Meanings

Literally 'first step' — the very beginning stage.

我们已经取得了初步的成果。

Wǒmen yǐjīng qǔdé le chūbù de chéngguǒ.

We have already achieved preliminary results.

这只是一个初步的计划。

Zhè zhǐshì yī gè chūbù de jìhuà.

This is only a preliminary plan.

初步调查显示情况并不严重。

Chūbù diàochá xiǎnshì qíngkuàng bìng bù yánzhòng.

The initial investigation shows the situation is not serious.

usage

初步 is typically used as an adjective before nouns: 初步计划 (preliminary plan), 初步结论 (preliminary conclusion), 初步了解 (initial understanding).

memory

Think of 初步 as your 'first step' — it's always preliminary because you haven't gone further yet.

初 chū

步 bù