初步
chūbù · HSK 3
initially
👣 初 = first/beginning + 步 = step; literally first-step
初 (first, as in 初次 first time) plus 步 (step, pace) combine to mean a first step toward something — hence initially, preliminarily, or tentatively. Used for early-stage actions and provisional conclusions.
初 — clothes radical 衤 + knife 刀
初 combines 衤 (clothes) and 刀 (knife), depicting the act of cutting cloth to begin making a garment. From this concrete image of starting a tailoring task came the extended meaning 'beginning' or 'first'. It is an associative compound, not phonetic.
步 — two feet: 止 (foot) on top + 止 inverted below
Originally a pictograph showing two footprints, one above the other, representing the act of walking step by step. The top 止 is a left foot and the bottom is a right foot, capturing alternating strides. The meaning extended from 'step' to 'pace,' 'stage,' or 'walk.'