兆

See also: 北 and 𫤬

兆	U+5146, 兆 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5146

← 充
[U+5145]

CJK Unified Ideographs

兇 →
[U+5147]

Translingual

Han character

兆 (Kangxi radical 10, 儿+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 中一山人 (LMUO), four-corner 3211₃, composition ⿻儿⿱丷八 or ⿻儿⿰冫⿱丿丶)

Derived characters

佻咷垗姚恌挑洮狣逃晀朓桃烑㸠珧祧脁眺䂪䄻絩罀䍮聎眺䑬䖴誂趒跳䠷銚(铫) 鞉餆駣鮡
𡭰覜頫(𫖯) 鴵鼗宨庣晁㿡窕筄雿
旐繉

References

KangXi: page 124, character 3
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1347
Dae Jaweon: page 260, character 4
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 268, character 2
Unihan data for U+5146

Chinese

simp. and trad.		兆
alternative forms		𠧞𡉵𡊥

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 兆

Shang

Warring States

Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)

Liushutong (compiled in Ming)

Oracle bone script

Chu slip and silk script

Qin slip script

Ancient script

Small seal script

Transcribed ancient scripts

**Oracle bone script**
j01450	j01451	j01452

**Small seal script**
s02381	s02382

**Transcribed ancient scripts**
L34835	L34836	L16555	L16556	L16557	L16558	L16559	L16560
L16561	L16562	L16563

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (兆) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
挑	l̥ʰaːw, l̥ʰeːw, *l'eːwʔ
洮	l̥ʰaːw, l'aːw, *lew
桃	*l'aːw
逃	*l'aːw
咷	l'aːw, l̥ʰeːws
鼗	*l'aːw
鞉	*l'aːw
駣	l'aːw, l'aːwʔ, l'aːws, l'ewʔ
𣂁	*sl̥ʰew
脁	*l̥ʰews
晁	*l'ew
兆	*l'ewʔ
旐	*l'ewʔ
狣	*l'ewʔ
鮡	l'ewʔ, l'eːw
垗	*l'ewʔ
姚	*lew
珧	*lew
銚	lew, l̥ʰeːw, *l'eːws
恌	lew, l̥ʰeːw
烑	*lew
餆	*lew
筄	*lews
艞	*lews
佻	l̥ʰeːw, l'eːw
祧	*l̥ʰeːw
朓	l̥ʰeːw, l̥ʰeːwʔ
庣	*l̥ʰeːw
趒	l̥ʰeːw, l̥ʰeːws, *l'eːw
聎	*l̥ʰeːw
眺	*l̥ʰeːws
覜	*l̥ʰeːws
頫	l̥ʰeːws, poʔ
絩	*l̥ʰeːws
跳	l̥ʰeːws, l'eːw
窕	*l'eːwʔ
誂	*l'eːwʔ

Pictogram (象形) – the cracks in a shell during fortune-telling, an omen.

Etymology

Compare Chepang ह्रावःसा (hrawʔ‑, “to forebode; to portend ill fortune”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhào (zhao⁴)
(Zhuyin): ㄓㄠˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): siu⁶
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): seu
(Meixian, Guangdong): sau⁴
Min Dong (BUC): diêu
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): tiāu / tiǎu
(Teochew, Peng'im): diao⁶ / diou⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhào
  - Zhuyin: ㄓㄠˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhào
  - Wade–Giles: chao⁴
  - Yale: jàu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jaw
  - Palladius: чжао (čžao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: siu⁶
  - Yale: siuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: siu⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: xiu⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯²²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: seu
  - Hakka Romanization System: seu
  - Hagfa Pinyim: seu⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /seu̯⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: sau⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /sau⁵³/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: diêu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛu²⁴²/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiāu
  - Tâi-lô: tiāu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: diau
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /tiau²²/
  - IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /tiau³³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiǎu
  - Tâi-lô: tiǎu
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tiau²²/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: diao⁶ / diou⁶
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tiău / tiŏu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiau³⁵/, /tiou³⁵/

Note:

diao6 - Shantou;
diou6 - Chaozhou.

Middle Chinese: /ɖˠiᴇu^X/

Rime
Character	兆
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	澄 (11)
Final (韻)	宵 (92)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	治小切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɖˠiᴇu^X/
Pan Wuyun	/ɖᵚiɛu^X/
Shao Rongfen	/ȡiæu^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɖiaw^X/
Li Rong	/ȡjɛu^X/
Wang Li	/ȡĭɛu^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/ȡʱi̯ɛu^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhào
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ziu⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*lr[a]wʔ/
(Zhengzhang): /*l'ewʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	兆
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zhào
Middle Chinese	‹ drjew^X ›
Old Chinese	/*lr[a]wʔ/
English	great number
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	兆
Reading #	1/1
No.	16856
Phonetic component	兆
Rime group	宵
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	肇
Old Chinese	/*l'ewʔ/

Definitions

兆

(historical) cracks formed on heated tortoise plastrons and mammal bones used in ancient divination
- 是月也，命大史釁龜策，占兆審卦吉凶。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  是月也，命大史衅龟策，占兆审卦吉凶。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Shì yuè yě, mìng tàishǐ xìn guīcè, zhānzhào shěnguà jíxiōng. [Pinyin]
  In this month orders are given to the Grand Scribe to smear with blood the tortoise-shells and divining stalks, and by interpreting the indications of the former and examining the figures formed by the latter, to determine the good and evil of their intimations.
- 是以不擇時日，不占卦兆，不謀所始，不議所終。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  是以不择时日，不占卦兆，不谋所始，不议所终。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Huainanzi, 2^nd century BCE
  Shìyǐ bù zé shírì, bù zhān guàzhào, bù móu suǒshǐ, bù yì suǒzhōng. [Pinyin]
  That being so, there was no selecting of [auspicious] times and days, no divining by trigrams or shell cracks, no scheming about where to begin, no discussion of where to end.
omen
吉兆 ― jízhào ― auspicious omen
- 相陰陽，占祲兆，鑽龜陳卦，主攘擇五卜，知其吉凶妖祥，傴巫跛擊之事也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  相阴阳，占祲兆，钻龟陈卦，主攘择五卜，知其吉凶妖祥，伛巫跛击之事也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Xunzi, c. 3^rd century BCE
  Xiàng yīnyáng, zhān jìnzhào, zuàn guī chén guà, zhǔ rǎngzé wǔbǔ, zhī qí jíxiōng yāoxiáng, yǔwū bǒjī zhī shì yě. [Pinyin]
  The work of the hunchbacked shamans and lame-footed seers is to assess the yin and the yang, to divine the omens and portents, to drill the tortoise-shells and lay out the hexagrams, to preside over ceremonies for warding off ills, selecting lucky days, and the five prognostications, and to know good and bad fortune, the auspicious and the inauspicious.
to portend; to augur
graveyard, cemetery, necropolis
- 吾力能改葬，終葬汝於先人之兆，然後惟其所願。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
  吾力能改葬，终葬汝于先人之兆，然后惟其所愿。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
  From: 韓愈 Han Yu 《祭十二郎文》 "Funeral Oration for my Twelfth Nephew", 803 CE.
  Wú lì néng gǎizàng, zhōng zàng rǔ yú xiānrén zhī zhào, ránhòu wéiqí suǒyuàn. [Pinyin]
  If I could rebury, I would rebury you in our ancestors' graveyard; only then would it be satisfactory.
(chiefly Taiwan) trillion (million million), tera-, 10¹²
(Mainland China) (SI prefix) million, mega-, 10⁶
- 專惟君而無他兮，又眾兆之所讎。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  专惟君而无他兮，又众兆之所雠。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Verses of Chu, 4^th century BCE – 2^nd century CE, translated based on David Hawkes' version
  Zhuān wéi jūn ér wú tā xī, yòu zhòngzhào zhī suǒchóu. [Pinyin]
  I thought of my prince alone, and of no other; and that, too, was a thing that the mob of hundreds of myriads abhorred.

Synonyms

(trillion): (Mainland China) 萬億／万亿 (wànyì)
(tera-): (Mainland China) 太 (tài)
(mega-): (Taiwan) 百萬／百万 (bǎiwàn)

Compounds

不祥之兆 (bùxiángzhīzhào)
五日京兆 (wǔrìjīngzhào)
京兆
京兆尹 (Jīngzhào Yǐn)
兆候 (zhàohòu)
兆域
兆基
兆朕
兆民 (zhàomín)
兆赫 (zhàohè)
先兆 (xiānzhào)
前兆 (qiánzhào)
吉兆 (jízhào)
喜兆

坼兆
宅兆 (zháizhào)
朕兆 (zhènzhào)
瑞兆 (ruìzhào)
病兆
祲兆
端兆
萌兆
警兆
凶兆 (xiōngzhào)
億兆／亿兆 (yìzhào)
兆亂／兆乱
兆頭／兆头 (zhàotou)

壇兆／坛兆
夢兆／梦兆
夢兆熊羆／梦兆熊罴
好兆頭／好兆头
徵兆／征兆 (zhēngzhào)
惡兆／恶兆
敗兆／败兆
瑞雪兆豐年／瑞雪兆丰年 (ruìxuě zhào fēngnián)
發兆／发兆
蘭兆／兰兆
預兆／预兆 (yùzhào)
飛騰之兆／飞腾之兆
龜兆／龟兆

Japanese

Kanji

兆

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

portent
trillion, 10¹²
sign
omen
symptoms

Readings

Go-on: じょう (jō)^{←でう (deu, historical)}
Kan-on: ちょう (chō, Jōyō)^{←てう (teu, historical)}
Kun: きざす (kizasu, 兆す, Jōyō); きざし (kizashi, 兆し, Jōyō)
Nanori: とき (toki); よし (yoshi)

Compounds

億(おく)兆(ちょう) (okuchō, “the masses, the people”)
兆(きざ)し (kizashi, “sign, omen”)
兆(ちょう)候(こう) (chōkō, “symptom, indication”)
兆(ちょう)民(みん) (chōmin, “everybody”)
凶(きょう)兆(ちょう) (kyōchō, “ill omen, inauspicious”)
前(ぜん)兆(ちょう) (zenchō, “harbinger”)
吉(きっ)兆(ちょう) (kitchō, “good omen, auspicious”)
慶(けい)兆(ちょう) (keichō, “auspicious omen”)
瑞(ずい)兆(ちょう) (zuichō, “felicitous omen”)
衰(すい)兆(ちょう) (suichō, “signs of decline”)

Numeral

兆(ちょう) • (chō)

trillion (million million), 10¹²
5000(ごせん)兆(ちょう)円(えん)欲(ほ)しい！
Go-sen-chō-en hoshii!
I want 5,000,000,000,000,000 yen! (internet meme)

Korean

Hanja

兆 (eum 조 (jo))

Hanja form^? of 조 (“a trillion”).

Vietnamese

Han character

兆: Hán Nôm readings: triệu, diệu, điềm, giệu

million, mega-