How to say “beginning” in Chinese
beginning; for the first time
“Beginning” in Chinese is 初, chū: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
初 is read chū. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 衤 “clothing”; on the right, 刀 “knife”: sewing starts with cutting.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “初”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 初. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我上初中二年级。wǒshàngchūzhōngèrniánjíI'm in the second year of middle school.
- 我妹妹明年上初中wǒmèimeimíngniánshàngchūzhōngMy little sister starts middle school next year.
- 最初我不太习惯后来就好了zuìchūwǒbútàixíguàn,hòuláijiùhǎoleAt first I wasn't really used to it, but later it was fine.
- 我初来中国的时候，一句汉语也不会说。wǒchūláiZhōngguódeshíhou,yíjùHànyǔyěbúhuìshuōWhen I first came to China, I couldn't say a single word of Chinese.
- 我们公司月初发工资wǒmengōngsīyuèchūfāgōngzīOur company pays salaries at the start of the month.
- 年初我给自己定了一个目标niánchūwǒgěizìjǐdìngleyígemùbiāoAt the start of the year I set myself a goal.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Beginning, middle, stage”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “beginning” in Chinese?
“Beginning” in Chinese is 初, pinyin chū.
What does 初 mean?
初 (chū) means “beginning; for the first time”.
How do you write 初?
初 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 初?
初 is read chū. Tones: chū — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“beginning” in the lesson “Beginning, middle, stage”
This word is from the topic “Time: when and how long” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free