About
The character '初' is structurally composed of the radical '衣' signifying clothing and the component '刀' representing a knife, forming an ideograph that originally depicted the concrete action of cutting cloth to commence the making of a garment. This specific manual inception in tailoring provided the foundational meaning, which over centuries generalized into the abstract concept of a beginning or first stage, thereby extending its application to denote the outset of any event, process, or condition. While its graphical form has maintained this integral combination, the semantic range has shifted from a literal craft-based initiation to a versatile term indicating origins and initial phases across contexts.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
初次见面请多关照。
我弟弟今年上初中。
月初他的工作很忙。
这是我初步的想法。
我们对结果初步满意。
初春的早晨有点冷。
这个项目初具规模。
她初入职场缺乏经验。