引发

引发 means 'to trigger' or 'to cause,' often used to describe the start of a chain of events, typically with negative or significant consequences.

The character 引 (yǐn) originally meant 'to pull' or 'to lead,' and 发 (fā) means 'to emit' or 'to occur.' Together, they convey the idea of causing something to happen, often unexpectedly or with unintended effects.

引发 is commonly used in news, academic, and everyday contexts to describe causes leading to results. It often carries a sense of responsibility or consequence, such as in '引发争议' (to spark controversy) or '引发事故' (to cause an accident).