兆 (zhào): (bound form) omen, to foretell, million, mega-
兆 (zhào) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) omen.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 儿 (structural). It ranks #2190 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 兆 cracks in oracle bones used in fortune-telling. Its radical form 儿 (legs) appears in many related characters such as 儿 (ér, child), 元 (yuán, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)), 先 (xiān, beforehand).
Definitions
- (bound form) omen
- to foretell
- million
- mega-
Etymology & Origin
pictographicCracks in oracle bones used in fortune-telling
Stroke Order
Practice writing 兆 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 征兆noun | zhēng zhào | omen |
| 预兆noun | yù zhào | omen |
| 兆头noun | zhào tou | omen |
| 前兆noun | qián zhào | omen |
| 兆赫noun | zhào hè | megahertz |
| 先兆noun | xiān zhào | omen |
| 凶兆noun | xiōng zhào | ill omen |
| 兆瓦noun | zhào wǎ | megawatt |
| 不祥之兆phrase | bù xiáng zhī zhào | (idiom) bad omen |
| 吉兆noun | jí zhào | lucky omen |
| 兆电子伏 | zhào diàn zǐ fú | mega electron volt (MeV) (unit of energy equal to 1.6 x 10⁻¹³ joules) |
| 兆字节noun | zhào zì jié | megabyte (2^20 or approximately a million bytes) |
| 兆瓦时 | zhào wǎ shí | megawatt-hour |
| 兆瓦特 | zhào wǎ tè | megawatt |
| 兆周 | zhào zhōu | megacycle (MC), equals 1,000,000 Hz |
兆 appears in 20 compound words: 40 as the first character, 60 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 兆 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
兆字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
zhào zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character for "trillion" is written is quite unique and left a deep impression on me.
台股大盘今成交量首破1兆元、指数仅涨1点作收 是惊奇还是危机讯号...
tái gǔ dà pán jīn chéng jiāo liàng shǒu pò 1 zhào yuán , zhǐ shǔ jǐn zhǎng 1 diǎn zuò shōu shì jīng qí hái shì wēi jī xùn hào . . .
The trading volume of the Taiwan stock market today exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time, and the index only rose 1 point to close, whether it was a surprise or a crisis signal...
...险、AI泡沫疑虑伤不了 台积电市值首破2兆美元
. . . xiǎn , A I pāo mò yí lǜ shāng bù le tái jī diàn shì zhí shǒu pò 2 zhào měi yuán
... Doubts about insurance and AI bubbles can't hurt TSMC's market value exceeded $2 trillion for the first time
...家中长辈21项警讯 网红医:恐认知障碍前兆
. . . jiā zhōng cháng bèi 2 1 xiàng jǐng xùn wǎng hóng yī : kǒng rèn zhī zhàng ài qián zhào
... 21 warning signs for elders in the family Internet celebrity doctor: fear of precursor to cognitive impairment
货币基金规模攀至1.2兆元
huò bì jī jīn guī mó pān zhì 1 . 2 zhào yuán
The scale of the monetary fund climbed to 1.2 trillion yuan
日本“猫经济”直逼3兆日圆 几乎追平大阪世博
rì běn māo jīng jì zhí bī 3 zhào rì yuán jī hū zhuī píng dà 阪 shì bó
Japan's "cat economy" is approaching 3 trillion yen, almost tying the Osaka World Expo
你认为这是个预兆吗？
Nǐ rèn wèi zhè shì gè yùzhào ma?
Do you think it's a sign?
乌云是下雨的征兆。
Wūyún shì xiàyǔ de zhēngzhào.
Dark clouds are a sign of rain.
事情发生之前都会有先兆。
Shìqing fāshēng zhīqián dōu huì yǒu xiānzhào.
Coming events cast their shadows before them.
他的懒惰是他未来不好的预兆。
Tā de lǎnduò shì tā wèilái bù hǎo de yùzhào.
His laziness boded ill for the future.
Character Family
儿 Radical Family — Characters sharing the legs radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 兆 (zhào) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 兆 have?
What is the radical of 兆?
What are the components of 兆?
What are common words containing 兆?
What characters sound the same as 兆 (zhào)?
Is 兆 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 兆 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.