起初…，…才…
at first …, only later …
Structure
起初 一开始的情况 ，（后来／直到…） 才 后来的变化
What it means
“At first …, only later …”: 起初 sets the first state against a later one, and 才 marks that later change as slow or hard-won.
How it is built
起初 + first state ， (后来／直到…) 才 + later change: 起初我听不懂广东话，住了两年才慢慢习惯 (at first I couldn't follow Cantonese; it took two years to get used to it).
When to use it
起初 is a written time word for “at the very beginning” (= 一开始, 最初). Before a noun, 最初 is the usual choice: 最初的计划.
Watch out
Use 才, not 就: 就 says the change came quickly or easily, the opposite of the point. ✗ 起初听不懂，住了两年就慢慢习惯了 ✓ 起初听不懂，住了两年才慢慢习惯.
Examples
起初大家都不看好这个方案，试验成功以后，反对的声音才慢慢少了。
At first nobody thought much of the plan; only after the trial succeeded did the objections slowly die down.
起初我听不懂广东话，在这儿住了两年才慢慢习惯。
At first I could not understand Cantonese; it took two years of living here before I got used to it.
Learn this in Lesson 116 · HSK 7–9: 深中通道通车 (The Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link opens)
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.
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