初（初一）

• Pinyin: chū
• Hanzi breakdown: 初 = 衤(clothing) + 刀 (knife), originally meaning the first cut of cloth; as a prefix combined with numbers 一 to 十 for calendar dates

Meaning

Prefix for the first ten days of a lunar month, or the first year of junior high. 初一 means the 1st day or Year 7.

As a date prefix, 初 combines with numbers 一 through 十 to indicate the first ten days of each lunar month: 初一 (1st), 初二 (2nd), 初三 (3rd), etc. This usage is essential for traditional festivals, e.g. 正月初一 (Lunar New Year's Day). Also used in school contexts: 初一 means the first year of junior high school.

Examples

1. 大年初一，全家人一起吃团圆饭。 On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family has a reunion dinner together.
2. 农历五月初五是端午节。 The 5th day of the 5th lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival.
3. 她的弟弟今年上初一了。 Her younger brother started the first year of junior high this year.

Usage Guide

Context: calendar, festivals, school

Tone: cultural

Do Say

• 正月初一是春节。(The first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival.)
• 他初一就开始学英语了。(He started learning English in the first year of junior high.)

Don't Say

• 三月初十五 (Don't combine 初 with numbers above ten — 初 only goes up to 初十 for the first ten days; say 三月十五 for the 15th)

Origin & History

The prefix use of 初 derives from its core meaning of 'beginning/first.' Combined with numbers, it marks the opening days of each lunar month, a system dating back thousands of years in the Chinese calendar.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal