初

• 拼音: chū
• 汉字拆解: 初 = 衤(clothing radical) + 刀 (knife), originally meaning to cut cloth as the first step in making garments

含义

Beginning; initial; at first. Refers to the early stage or start of something.

Used as an adverb or prefix to indicate the beginning of a period or the first occurrence. Common in phrases like 初次 (for the first time), 初恋 (first love), 年初 (beginning of the year), and 月初 (beginning of the month). Can also modify time expressions: 初春 (early spring), 初夏 (early summer).

例句

1. 今年年初，他换了一份新工作。
2. 我初到这个城市的时候，什么都不熟悉。
3. 这件事发生在本月初。

用法指南

语境: time, narrative, formal

语气: temporal

正确说法

• 我们初次见面是在去年。(The first time we met was last year.)
• 这个项目还在初期阶段。(This project is still in its initial stage.)

错误说法

• 初已经很晚了 (Don't use 初 alone as a time expression — combine it: 年初, 月初, 初期; saying 初 by itself is incomplete)

起源与历史

Composed of 衤(clothing) and 刀 (knife), originally meaning to cut cloth — the first step in making clothes, hence 'beginning.'

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal