拔地而起 bádì'érqǐ to rise steeply Definitions Defs Origin Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 拔地 bádì to rise steeply to rise steeply from the level ground; to tower above the earth而 ér particleconjunction [adverbial linker] Connects an adverb-like description to the following verb to show the manner, cause, or basis of an action.起 qǐ particle up used after a verb to show upward movement