自…起【zì … qǐ】

自…起 marks the point from which something holds and carries on. 自 is the written 从 "from", and 起 is "starting". A date or event goes between them, and the whole frame sits before the verb – laws, notices and announcements use it to say when something takes effect.

Fixed forms

自即日起 is "with immediate effect, from today". 自…之日起 counts from a named event, the usual wording in contracts.

从…起 and 从…开始 mean the same in everyday speech and writing. 自从 is different: it looks back at a past starting point – "ever since" – and is about how things have been, not when a rule begins.

Before the verb

English puts "from 1 January" at the end. Chinese puts the frame before the verb it times.

• × 新规定实施自明年一月起。 → 新规定自明年一月起实施。
• × 本合同生效自签字之日。 → 本合同自签字之日起生效。