起初

qǐchū
originally; at first; at the outset

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 起 qǐ
  1. to rise
  2. to raise
  3. to get up
  4. to set out
  5. to start
  6. to appear
  7. to launch
  8. to initiate (action)
  9. to draft
  10. to establish
  11. to get (from a depot or counter)
  12. verb suffix, to start
  13. starting from (a time, place, price etc)
  14. classifier for occurrences or unpredictable events: case, instance
  15. classifier for groups: batch, group
2 初 chū
  1. at first
  2. (at the) beginning
  3. first
  4. junior
  5. basic