打…起
since; from (colloquial for 从…起)
Structure
打 时间／事件 起 ， 主语 就 … ／ 打小（起） ， …
What it means
Since; from (a time on). 打 means 从, so 打…起 is a spoken, northern-flavoured 从…起 marking the start of a stretch of time that runs on.
How it is built
打 + time or event + 起，subject + 就／一直 + …: 打记事起，我家就住在这条胡同里 (for as long as I can remember, we have lived in this hutong). In 打小 (since childhood) 起 is usually dropped.
When to use it
Use it in speech for a starting point that runs on: 打今天起，我每天少看一个小时手机. 打 can also mark a starting place: 他打北京来.
Watch out
It is spoken, so in formal writing use 从…起: write 从今年起, not 打今年起, in a report. Remember 打小 normally drops 起: 他打小就爱画画.
Examples
打记事起，我家就住在这条胡同里。
For as long as I can remember, my family has lived in this hutong.
他打小就爱画画，现在成了一名设计师。
He has loved drawing since he was little, and now he is a designer.
打今天起，我每天少看一个小时手机。
From today I am spending an hour less a day on my phone.
Learn this in Lesson 131 · HSK 7–9: 消失的老物件 (Things that disappeared)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →