初（初一）

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

含义

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.

例句

1. 大年初一，全家人一起吃团圆饭。
2. 农历五月初五是端午节。
3. 她的弟弟今年上初一了。

用法指南

语境: calendar, festivals, school

语气: cultural

正确说法

• 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.)

错误说法

• 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)

起源与历史

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.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal