起初英语中被称为 "at first" 或 "in the beginning." 它来源于拉丁语的 "initium"，意思是 "开始" 或 "起点"。这个词经常被用在叙述故事或描述事件的开始阶段。例如：

At first, I was hesitant to go to the party, but then I decided to give it a try.

In the beginning, I thought the job would be easy, but it turned out to be much more challenging than I expected.

At first, the new system seemed confusing, but after a few days, I got the hang of it.

总之，"at first" 或 "in the beginning" 可以用来描述开始阶段的事情或想法。