初 (chū): beginning

Meanings

1 beginning
2 initial
3 first

Characters

初

chū

beginning; initial

Composed of 衤 (clothing) + 刀 (knife) — the first cut of cloth to make a garment.

Examples

他们是初次见面。

Tāmen shì chūcì jiànmiàn.

It's their first time meeting.

这是我对这个城市的初印象。

Zhè shì wǒ duì zhège chéngshì de chū yìnxiàng.

This is my first impression of this city.

月初我很忙。

Yuèchū wǒ hěn máng.

I'm very busy at the beginning of the month.

Tips

usage

初 is used as a prefix for 'initial/beginning': 初级 (beginner level), 初步 (preliminary), 初恋 (first love). In dates, 月初 means 'beginning of the month', 年初 means 'beginning of the year'.

culture

In the lunar calendar, 初一 to 初十 are the first ten days of each month. 正月初一 is Chinese New Year's Day.

Components

radical

刀 dāo

knife

Knife on the right — the indexing radical for 初. Together with the cloth radical 衤, it forms a 会意 picture: scissors-to-cloth, the first cut that begins a garment. From that concrete origin came every metaphorical 'beginning' — 初次, 初心, 起初, 当初.

semantic

衤 yī

clothing

Clothing radical on the left — the standing form of 衣. It pairs with the knife to give 初 its meaning: cutting cloth was the FIRST step in tailoring a garment, hence 'beginning, initial.' Same radical heads 被, 裤, 裙. Note: it's the indexing radical for many cloth-words but for 初 the dictionary indexes under 刀 instead.