吉兆

jízhào

noun #59,405

Meanings

HSK 7-9

老人说，早上听见喜鹊叫是吉兆。

Lǎorén shuō, zǎoshang tīngjiàn xǐquè jiào shì jízhào.

Old people say that hearing a magpie call in the morning is a good omen.

HSK 7-9

比赛前一天，他捡到了一枚硬币，觉得这是一个吉兆。

Bǐsài qián yì tiān, tā jiǎndào le yì méi yìngbì, juéde zhè shì yí ge jízhào.

The day before the match he found a coin and took it as a good omen.

usage

The opposite is 凶兆 'ill omen'. 吉兆 is written and formal; in speech people say 好兆头. The neutral word for any omen is 预兆.

culture

The magpie, 喜鹊, literally 'joy magpie', is the classic bird of good news: its call is said to announce a happy event or a visitor.

吉 jí

兆 zhào