起草
qǐ cǎo · HSK 7
to make a draft
📝 起 (start) + 草 (grass, but also draft) = start a draft
草 means grass, yet it doubles as the word for a rough draft (as in 草稿). So 起草 literally pairs start with draft: to begin drawing something up. The grassy sense hints at something quick and unpolished, a first cut.
起 — 走 (run) + 己 (self/phonetic)
起 combines 走 'run/walk' as the meaning component with 己 as the phonetic component. The 走 element suggests movement of the body, giving the core sense of rising up or starting to move. From there it extended to meanings like 'get up,' 'begin,' and 'arise.'
草 — grass radical 艹 + 早 (zǎo, phonetic)
草 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The top 艹 (grass radical, derived from 艸) gives the meaning 'grass' or 'plant', while 早 underneath supplies the sound. Originally 草 referred to a specific plant and acorn-like fruit, but it shifted to mean grass and vegetation broadly, and by extension 'rough' or 'draft'.