一起
together
HSK level
- Pinyin
- yìqǐ
- Part of speech
- adverb
- Level
- HSK 2
- Strokes
- 11
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 一起
一起 is written with 11 strokes (一: 1, 起: 10). The animation replays automatically.
What does 一起 mean?
一起 (yìqǐ) means 'together' — doing something jointly with someone else.
It functions as an adverb and goes BEFORE the verb: 我们一起去 ('let's go together'), not 我们去一起. The implied subject is plural (we / us / them), so a 'with whom' phrase usually appears earlier in the sentence using 跟 or 和: 我跟朋友一起吃饭 ('I'm eating with friends'). 一起 can also be a noun meaning 'one place / the same spot' in expressions like 在一起 ('to be together,' often romantically: 他们在一起了 — 'they're a couple now').
Note the tone change: 一 is normally yī (first tone), but before a fourth-tone syllable like 起 (qǐ, third tone) it shifts to yì. Pinyin reflects this: yìqǐ.
Character by character
Memory hook: Literally 'one place' — when people end up in 'one place,' they're together.
Hear 一起 in real episodes
一起 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
她一起管理一家做瓦哈卡菜的饭店，瓦哈卡是墨西哥的一个地方。
She co-manages a restaurant that makes Oaxacan food; Oaxaca is a place in Mexico.
Top Chefs Cook Fine Food and Reach for Taco Bell After Work
这个比赛和一个保护野生动物的组织一起合作。
The contest works together with a wildlife conservation organization.
A Squirrel Attacks an Owl and a Moose Sneezes: The Funniest Wildlife Photos of 2026 Are InIntermediate
飞机上，有一个坐飞机的医生，一直和他在一起。
A doctor who was a passenger on the plane stayed with him the whole time.
A FlyDubai Co-Pilot Attacked His Captain With the Cockpit's Own Axe. Passengers Broke In and Saved the Plane.
Example sentences
我们一起去吃饭吧。
Wǒmen yìqǐ qù chī fàn ba.
Let's go eat together.
spoken
我跟妈妈一起看电视。
Wǒ gēn māma yìqǐ kàn diànshì.
I'm watching TV with mom.
spoken
他们在一起两年了。
Tāmen zài yìqǐ liǎng nián le.
They've been together (a couple) for two years.
neutral
周末你想一起打篮球吗？
Zhōumò nǐ xiǎng yìqǐ dǎ lánqiú ma?
Want to play basketball together this weekend?
spoken
Common phrases with 一起
Synonyms
Same meaning as 一起, but more colloquial and northern-flavored. 一起 works everywhere; 一块儿 sounds chattier and very Beijing.
一同 is the formal/written equivalent of 一起 ('jointly / together'). Use it in speeches, formal letters, or news writing; in conversation 一起 is normal.
Don't confuse 一起 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 一起 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 一起 in 3 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.