兆头 (zhào tou) — omen, portent, sign
Definition
A general word for an 'omen' or 'sign' of what may happen — 预兆 is the more formal, near-synonymous term, while 苗头 points to early indications of a developing (often negative) situation.
noun
omenportentsign
Examples
- ,兆头。Yì zhī niǎo fēi jìn wū lǐ, dà jiā dōu shuō zhè shì gè bù hǎo de zhào tou.A bird flew into the house, and everyone said it was a bad omen.
- 兆头?。Nǐ kàn dào nà ge zhào tou le ma? wǒ jué de wǒ men yào xiǎo xīn.Did you see that sign? I think we need to be careful.
- 兆头。Gǔ dài rén cháng bǎ rì shí kàn zuò bù jí lì de zhào tou.Ancient people often regarded solar eclipses as unlucky portents.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.