兆

See also: 北 and 𫤬

兆	U+5146, 兆 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5146

← 充
[U+5145]

CJK Unified Ideographs

兇 →
[U+5147]

Translingual

Stroke order (Japan)

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, 晀, 朓, 桃, 烑, 㸠, 珧, 祧, 脁, 眺, 䂪, 䄻, 絩, 罀, 䍮, 聎, 䑬, 䖴, 誂(𫍥), 跳, 䠷, 銚(铫), 鞉, 餆, 駣(𱅏), 鮡(𬶐)
逃, 趒, 𠛪, 𡭰, 覜(𬢋), 頫(𫖯), 鴵, 宨, 𪨱, 𮎮, 𪜍, 晁, 𣑯, 𣴝, 㿡, 𫀰, 窕, 𫅄, 筄, 雿, 𠩓, 𡱜, 庣, 𤶃, 旐, 𮧤, 鼗, 𨴡, 繉

References

Kangxi Dictionary: 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

Wikipedia has an article on:

兆

Wikipedia has articles on:

兆 (前綴) (Written Standard Chinese^?)
Mega- (English)

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
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): siu⁶

(Taishan, Wiktionary): siau⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): seu

(Hailu, HRS): shau^ˇ

(Meixian, Guangdong): sau⁴
Eastern Min (BUC): diêu
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): dieo⁵
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tiāu / tiǎu

(Teochew, Peng'im): diao⁶ / diou⁶
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zau

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–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: siu⁶
  - Yale: siuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: siu⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: xiu⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯²²/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: siau⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siau²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: seu
  - Hakka Romanization System: seu
  - Hagfa Pinyim: seu⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /seu̯⁵⁵/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: shau^ˇ
  - Sinological IPA: /ʃau¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: sau⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /sau⁵³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: diêu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛu²⁴²/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: dieo⁵
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: dā̤u
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tieu¹¹/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: dieo⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tieu²¹/
Southern Min
- (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.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zau
  - MiniDict: zau^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zau
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zɔ²³/

Middle Chinese: drjewX

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
Baxter	drjewX
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/
Bernhard 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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
  是月也，命大史衅龟策，占兆审卦吉凶。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, 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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
  是以不择时日，不占卦兆，不谋所始，不议所终。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, 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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, 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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, 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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
  专惟君而无他兮，又众兆之所雠。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, 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 (Jīngzhào)
京兆尹 (Jīngzhào Yǐn)
億兆 / 亿兆 (yìzhào)
兆亂 / 兆乱
兆候 (zhàohòu)
先兆 (xiānzhào)
兆域
兆基
兆朕
兆民 (zhàomín)
兆赫 (zhàohè)
兆頭 / 兆头 (zhàotou)
凶兆 (xiōngzhào)
前兆 (qiánzhào)
吉兆 (jízhào)
喜兆 (xǐzhào)
坼兆
壇兆 / 坛兆
夢兆 / 梦兆 (mèngzhào)
夢兆熊羆 / 梦兆熊罴
好兆頭 / 好兆头
宅兆 (zháizhào)
徵兆 / 征兆 (zhēngzhào)
惡兆 / 恶兆 (èzhào)
敗兆 / 败兆
朕兆 (zhènzhào)
瑞兆 (ruìzhào)
瑞雪兆豐年 / 瑞雪兆丰年 (ruìxuě zhào fēngnián)
病兆 (bìngzhào)
發兆 / 发兆
祲兆
端兆
萌兆 (méngzhào)
蘭兆 / 兰兆
警兆
預兆 / 预兆 (yùzhào)
飛騰之兆 / 飞腾之兆 (fēiténg zhī zhào)
龜兆 / 龟兆 (guīzhào)

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

兆

Wikipedia ^ja

Kanji

兆

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

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

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

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ちょー [chóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])
IPA^(key): [t͡ɕo̞ː]

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-

Chinese numerals
10⁴	10⁸	10¹²	10¹⁶	10²⁰	10²⁴	10²⁸	10³²	10³⁶	10⁴⁰	10⁴⁴	10⁴⁸
萬／万 (wàn)	億／亿 (yì)	兆 (zhào) (Taiwan)	京 (jīng) (Taiwan)	垓 (gāi)	秭 (zǐ)	穰 (ráng)	溝／沟 (gōu)	澗／涧 (jiàn)	正 (zhèng)	載／载 (zài)	極／极 (jí)
萬／万 (wàn)	億／亿 (yì)	萬億／万亿 (wànyì) (Mainland China)	億億/亿亿 (Mainland China)	垓 (gāi)	秭 (zǐ)	穰 (ráng)	溝／沟 (gōu)	澗／涧 (jiàn)	正 (zhèng)	載／载 (zài)	極／极 (jí)

v • d • e Japanese counter/suffix: 兆 (ちょう, chō, "trillion")
Number	Kanji	Kana	Romaji
10¹²	一兆	いっちょう	itchō
2 × 10¹²	二兆	にちょう	nichō
3 × 10¹²	三兆	さんちょう	sanchō
4 × 10¹²	四兆	よんちょう	yonchō
5 × 10¹²	五兆	ごちょう	gochō
6 × 10¹²	六兆	ろくちょう	rokuchō
7 × 10¹²	七兆	ななちょう	nanachō
8 × 10¹²	八兆	はっちょう	hatchō
9 × 10¹²	九兆	きゅうちょう	kyūchō
10¹³	十兆	じっちょう	jitchō
10¹⁴	百兆	ひゃくちょう	hyakuchō