自始

zìshǐ

adverb

Meanings

1 from the outset
2 from the very beginning
3 ab initio

Characters

beginning; start

Examples

HSK 6

这份合同自始无效。

Zhè fèn hétóng zìshǐ wúxiào.

This contract is void from the outset.

HSK 7-9

他自始至终都很支持我。

Tā zìshǐ-zhìzhōng dōu hěn zhīchí wǒ.

He has supported me from beginning to end.

Tips

register

Formal/legal - common in legal Chinese where 自始无效 (void ab initio) is a key term. In everyday speech you'll usually see it inside the four-character phrase 自始至终 ('from beginning to end').

Stroke Order

自 zì

始 shǐ