Chinese word

潮

Pronunciation

Pinyincháo

Meaning

  • nountide

Example

潮涨得很快，船要小心。cháo zhǎng de hěn kuài chuán yào xiǎo xīn

The tide is rising quickly, so the boat needs to be careful.

Illustration for 潮 (tide)

More examples

退潮时，礁石露出来了。tuì cháo shí jiāo shí lù chū lái le

When the tide went out, the reefs emerged.

Core concept

A recurring wave of water or influence that rises and recedes, with enough moisture to leave things damp.

Common phrases

  • 涨潮zhǎng cháo

    flood tide

  • 退潮tuì cháo

    receding tide

  • 潮水cháo shuǐ

    tidal water

Similar words

潮汐cháo xī: The periodic change in sea level as the ocean water rises and recedes.
潮水cháo shuǐ: Tidal water moving onto land or toward the shore.

Definition in Chinese

本义为海水随潮汐升降的现象和潮水，引申为事物像潮水般周期性增减或流行的潮流，也可用来描述潮湿的状态。běn yì wèi hái shuǐ suí cháo xī shēng jiàng de xiàn xiàng hé cháo shuǐ yǐn shēn wèi shì wù xiàng cháo shuǐ bān zhōu qī xìng zēng jiǎn huò liú xíng de cháo liú yě kě yòng lái miáo shù cháo shī de zhuàng tài

Word origin

潮 (cháo, "tide") combines 氵 (shuǐ, "water") + 朝 (cháo, "morning"), with the first indicating meaning and the second supplying the sound; the tide sense later extended to trends and dampness.

Usage tips

  • The fashion sense is especially common in casual speech and media, while more formal writing often chooses a more precise noun for a trend.

Other meanings

  • dampadjective
  • trendyadjective

Related words

Word lists with this word