自始至终
zì shǐ zhì zhōng · HSK 7
from start to finish (idiom)
🏁 自 from + 始 start + 至 to + 终 end = from start to finish
Four chars line up one-to-one: 自 (from) 始 (start) 至 (reach/to) 终 (end). Read left to right and you literally get from-start-to-end, the idiom for doing something consistently the whole way through.
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.
至 — arrow 矢 inverted + ground 一
至 is a pictograph showing an arrow (矢) landing point-down on the ground (一), depicting the moment it reaches its target. The original meaning was 'to arrive' or 'to reach,' which extended to 'utmost' or 'extreme' — the point beyond which one cannot go further.