起舞

qǐwǔ

verb #11,539

Meanings

HSK 5

音乐响起，大家纷纷起舞。

Yīnyuè xiǎngqǐ, dàjiā fēnfēn qǐwǔ.

When the music started, everyone began to dance.

HSK 7-9

蝴蝶在花丛中翩翩起舞。

Húdié zài huācóng zhōng piānpiān-qǐwǔ.

Butterflies danced gracefully among the flowers.

起舞 is literary/formal. In casual speech, people say 跳舞. 翩翩起舞 (to dance gracefully) is a common four-character expression.

culture

闻鸡起舞 (to rise and practice at cock-crow) is a famous idiom about diligence, from the story of 祖逖 practicing swordsmanship at dawn.

起 qǐ

舞 wǔ