初 (chū) is a Chinese character meaning “at the beginning”. It is written from 衤 (clothing (left-side form)) and 刀 (knife), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “first; beginning”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
衤 + 刀
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：初，始也。从刀从衣，裁衣之始也。
Memory aid
Cloth (衤) on the left, a knife (刀) on the right. Both parts really are in this character: the first cut into the cloth is where a garment begins.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 初中chū zhōngjunior high school初 = chū
- 最初zuì chūat first; initially; the very beginning初 = chū
Go deeper
All readings
first; beginning
at the beginning; first; early; for the first time
开始的；最早的阶段。也表示第一次。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 初中chū zhōngjunior high school初 = chū
- 最初zuì chūat first; initially; the very beginning初 = chū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 初 mean?
初 (chū) means at the beginning; first; early; for the first time.
How do you pronounce 初?
It is pronounced chū.
What parts is 初 made of?
衤 (clothing (left-side form)) and 刀 (knife), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：初，始也。从刀从衣，裁衣之始也。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 初 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 初?
刀. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 初?
Common ones are 初中 and 最初. The reading of 初 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.