兆头 zhàotou omen
omen; portent; sign
How to remember 兆头: 兆 omen + 头 head = omen.
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How it is used
- An omen/sign of what's to come - 好兆头 (hǎo zhàotou) a good omen; 不祥的兆头 (an ill omen).
- Colloquial; the 头 is a light suffix. Refers to an early indication read as auspicious or ominous.
- Contrast 征兆 (zhēngzhào), the more formal 'sign/symptom' (e.g. of an illness or crisis); 兆头 is the everyday 'good/bad sign'.