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初

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(bound form) at first; initially; (bound form) first; early; (bound form) (in lunar calendar dates, before numerals 1–10) days 1 to 10 of a month, as in 初三[chu1 san1] "the third"

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HSK 3.0
Level 3
Old HSK
Level 5
Strokes
7
Radical
刀 +5
Structure
Left–right 左右
Traditional
初
Common rank
#850
Unicode
U+521D

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 初 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Cutting 刀 the cloth 衤 is the first step in making clothes

Components 衤 刀

How to remember it

elementary · Heisig RSH #405

cloak + dagger

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 初

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

WordPinyinMeaning
大年初一 dà nián chū yī Lunar New Year's Day
人之初，性本善 rén zhī chū , xìng běn shàn man at birth is fundamentally good in nature (the first two lines of Three Character Class…
初中生 chū zhōng shēng junior high student
正月初一 zhēng yuè chū yī New Year's Day in the lunar calendar
初级中学 chū jí zhōng xué junior high school; junior middle school; lower secondary school
初级小学 chū jí xiǎo xué lower elementary school
初学者 chū xué zhě beginning student
和好如初 hé hǎo rú chū to bury the hatchet; to become reconciled
格林尼治本初子午线 Gé lín ní zhì běn chū zǐ wǔ xiàn the Greenwich meridian
年代初 nián dài chū beginning of an age; beginning of a decade
唐初四大家 Táng chū Sì Dà jiā Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang; refers to Yu Shinan 虞世南[Yu2 Shi4 nan2], Ouyang Xun…
初露头角 chū lù tóu jiǎo lit. to first show one's horns (idiom); fig. a first show of emerging talent; first sign o…
华灯初上 huá dēng chū shàng early evening when lanterns are first lit
初等代数 chū děng dài shù elementary algebra
初试身手 chū shì shēn shǒu to have a try; to try one's hand; initial foray
初一 chū yī first year in junior middle school; first day of a lunar month
初中 chū zhōng junior high school (abbr. for 初級中學|初级中学[chu1 ji2 zhong1 xue2])
初心 chū xīn (one's) original intention, aspiration etc; (Buddhism) "beginner's mind" (i.e. having an a…
初生 chū shēng newborn; nascent; primary (biology)
初小 chū xiǎo lower elementary school (abbr. for 初級小學|初级小学[chu1 ji2 xiao3 xue2])