to take off (aircraft)
HSK level
起飞 is written with 13 strokes (起: 10, 飞: 3). The animation replays automatically.
起飞 (qǐfēi) is the verb 'to take off' — the action of an aircraft leaving the ground.
The literal pair is 起 'rise' + 飞 'fly,' so the compound is transparent: rise-fly = take off. It's used for planes, helicopters, rockets, and (in modern slang) drones. Two notes for English speakers: first, 起飞 is intransitive — the plane takes off, you don't 'take off the plane.' The pilot doesn't 起飞 a plane; the plane 起飞 itself. The opposite is 降落 (jiàngluò, land) or 着陆 (zhuólù, touch down).
Second, in recent internet slang, 起飞 has acquired a figurative meaning: 'to take off' as in suddenly succeeding or going viral — 销量起飞 ('sales are taking off'). For everyday HSK use, stick to the literal aviation meaning. Common phrase at airports: 飞机几点起飞？('What time does the plane take off?').
Character by character
Memory hook: Rise + fly = rise into flight = take off.
起飞 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Browse the full episode library飞机几点起飞？
Fēijī jǐ diǎn qǐfēi?
What time does the plane take off?
spoken
我们的飞机马上要起飞了。
Wǒmen de fēijī mǎshàng yào qǐfēi le.
Our plane is about to take off.
neutral
因为下雨，飞机不能起飞。
Yīnwèi xià yǔ, fēijī bù néng qǐfēi.
Because of the rain, the plane can't take off.
neutral
飞机起飞的时候，请坐好。
Fēijī qǐfēi de shíhou, qǐng zuòhǎo.
When the plane takes off, please stay seated.
formal
飞机起飞晚了一个小时。
Fēijī qǐfēi wǎn le yí ge xiǎoshí.
The plane took off an hour late.
neutral
起床 means 'get out of bed / wake up' — people getting up in the morning. 起飞 is for aircraft. Both start with 起 (rise) but the second character makes all the difference.
飞 alone means 'to fly' as a continuous action — birds flying, planes flying through the air. 起飞 specifically names the moment of takeoff. A bird 飞着 (is flying); a plane 起飞 (takes off) and then 飞 (flies).
起来 is the directional complement 'up / get up' (站起来 = stand up). 起飞 is a specific verb for aircraft takeoff. Don't say 飞起来 expecting it to mean 'take off' — it more often means 'fly up / begin to fly' in a general sense.
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