ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

初 chū beginning

beginning; first; initial

How to remember 初: 衤 clothes + 刀 knife = beginning. The nervous student tailor cuts the cloth for her first clothes with a sharp knife and whispers "This is only the beginning."

  • HSK 3
  • 7 strokes

Component breakdown

初 = 衤 clothes + 刀 knife

  • 衤 clothes
  • 刀 knife
The Gushi story

The nervous student tailor cuts the cloth for her first clothes with a sharp knife and whispers "This is only the beginning."

How it is used

  • Marks the early/first stage of something - 初期 (chūqī) early phase, 最初 (zuìchū) at first, 初步 (chūbù) preliminary.
  • As a time prefix it means the beginning of a period - 年初 (niánchū) start of the year, 月初 (yuèchū) start of the month.
  • 当初 (dāngchū) = 'back then / at the outset,' often with a tinge of hindsight or regret.
  • 初中 (chūzhōng) is junior high (vs 高中 senior high).

Words with 初

Example sentences

  • 初冬时节，他还坚持晨跑。 Chūdōng shíjié, tā hái jiānchí chénpǎo.He still insists on running in the morning even though it's early winter.