This is the 390th most frequent Russian word.
начале
"Начале" means "beginning" or "start" (prepositional case, typically used with "в начале" – "at the beginning").
Refers to the initial part of a thing, such as a book.
В начале книги описывается знакомство героев.
At the beginning of the book, the introduction of the characters is described.
Refers to the start of a time period, such as a month.
Я вернулся домой в начале месяца.
I returned home at the beginning of the month.
Refers to the preliminary or starting phase of an event, such as a meeting.