Chinese word

兆头

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhào tou

Meaning

  • nounsign

Example

病情有好转的兆头。bìng qíng yǒu háo zhuǎn de zhào tou

There are signs that the illness is improving.

Illustration for 兆头 (sign)

More examples

新政策出台后，市场暂时还没有显著的兆头。xīn zhèng cè chū tái hòu shì chǎng zàn shí hái méi yǒu xiǎn zhù de zhào tou

After the new policy was introduced, the market still showed no significant signs for now.

Core concept

A small early clue that points toward how a situation may develop.

Common phrases

  • 没有兆头méi yǒu zhào tou

    no sign

  • 看不到兆头kàn bú dào zhào tou

    see no sign

  • 乐观的兆头lè guān de zhào tou

    optimistic sign

Similar words

迹象jì xiàng: An observable sign of a change or event taking place.
征兆zhēng zhào: An early warning sign that comes before an event or illness appears.
预兆yù zhào: A sign that suggests a favorable or unfavorable event may happen later.
先兆xiān zhào: An initial change or reaction that comes before a later event.

Definition in Chinese

表示暗示事态走向的初期迹象或苗头，常用于判断好转或恶化的可能性。biǎo shì àn shì shì tài zǒu xiàng de chū qī jì xiàng huò miáo tou cháng yòng yú pàn duàn háo zhuǎn huò è huà de kě néng xìng

Word origin

兆头 (zhàotou, "sign") combines 兆 (zhào, "omen"), a character historically linked to cracks read in divination, with 头 (tou, "head or beginning") to mark the first visible hint of what follows.

Usage tips

  • The surrounding situation determines whether it is favorable or unfavorable, so the noun itself carries no fixed positive or negative judgment.

Other meanings

  • omennoun
  • indicationnoun

Word lists with this word