自始

zìshǐ

adverb

Meanings

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

Characters

beginning; start

Examples

这份合同自始无效。

Zhè fèn hétóng zìshǐ wúxiào.

This contract is void from the outset.

他自始至终都很支持我。

Tā zìshǐ zhì zhōng 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