初一 meaning in English
first year in junior middle school; first day of a lunar month
Meaning of 初一
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- first year in junior middle school
- first day of a lunar month
How to use 初一
初一 most often names the first day of a lunar month, especially 大年初一 (dà nián chūyī), the first day of Chinese New Year. It also means the first year of junior middle school, roughly grade 7, alongside 初二 and 初三. Example: 我弟弟今年上初一。(Wǒ dìdi jīnnián shàng chūyī.) My younger brother is in his first year of junior middle school this year.
初 (chū) means beginning, and 一 (yī) means one, so 初一 is the very first of something: the first day of a lunar month or the first year of junior middle school. Picture standing at the starting line, number one.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 初一 for the first day of a Western calendar month, but that is 一号 (yī hào). 初一 refers only to the lunar calendar, for example 正月初一 for Lunar New Year's Day. Also do not confuse 初 with 衤-less look-alikes; 初 has the clothing radical 衤 on the left, not 礻.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
初 chū · at first · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
一 yī · one · 1 strokes
- 1
Related words
Words that share a character with 初一.
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 一样 | yīyàng | same; like |
| 一些 | yīxiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
| 有一些 | yǒuyīxiē | somewhat; rather |
| 一定 | yīdìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled |
| 一直 | yīzhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
Questions about 初一
What does 初一 mean?
初一 (chūyī) means "first year in junior middle school; first day of a lunar month" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 初一?
初一 is made of 2 characters: 初 (7 strokes), 一 (1 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 初一 an HSK word?
Yes. 初一 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say the 11th or 15th day of a lunar month?
The 初 prefix is only used for days one to ten, from 初一 to 初十. After that you just say the number, like 十一 or 十五, as in 正月十五 (the Lantern Festival).
Does the tone of 一 change in 初一?
No. Here 一 is at the end of the word as an ordinal, so it keeps its original first tone: chūyī.