起
qǐ
I v.
1) rise; get up
2) raise; build
你说的话起了作用。 What you have said has had an effect.
3) start
从今天起 starting from today
4) unload; remove
起货 unload goods
5) buy; obtain
II suf.
1) with sense of “up”
举起枪(来)瞄准 raise a gun and take aim
说起这件事儿 mentioned this matter
2) as resultative ending
我买不起。 I can't afford it.
III m.
case; batch; group
分三起出发 set out in three groups