HSK 6 · Time

当初 dāngchū “originally” in Chinese

Traditional 當初

What 当初 means

  1. originally
  2. at that time
  3. at first

How to say 当初

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale当dāng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale初chū1st tone, high and level

当初 in a sentence

  1. 我当初要是买音乐会的票就好了。

    Wǒ dāngchū yàoshi mǎi yīnyuèhuì de piào jiù hǎo le.

    If only I’d bought a ticket for the concert.

    Sentence #4267327 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 要是你当初努力学习的话，就可以通过测试了。

    Yàoshi nǐ dāngchū nǔlì xuéxí de huà, jiù kěyǐ tōngguò cèshì le.

    If you’d studied hard back then, you would have passed the test.

    Sentence #14037660 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 汤姆说我当初应该去找玛丽帮我。

    Tāngmǔ shuō wǒ dāngchū yīnggāi qù zhǎo Mǎlì bāng wǒ.

    Tom said I should have asked Mary for help in the first place.

    Sentence #13750269 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 当初 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 当 (dāng) with each of its parts in a different colour
当dāngdong
  • ⺌small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 彐snout · jì
The character 初 (chū) with each of its parts in a different colour
初chūat first; initially
  • 衤clothes form of 衣 · yī
  • 刀knife · dāo

How to write 当初

当 6 strokes · 初 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

当初 (dāngchū) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 当初 (dāngchū). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 当初

Words with 当

当然dāngrán · of course当dāng · to act as当时dāngshí · then当地dāngdì · local当心dāngxīn · to be careful上当shàngdàng · to be fooled相当xiāngdāng · equivalent to当场dāngchǎng · on the spot当代dāngdài · contemporary当前dāngqián · current

Words with 初

初中chūzhōng · junior high school最初zuìchū · at first初级chūjí · elementary起初qǐchū · at first初步chūbù · initial

More words: Time & Sequence

成天chéngtiān · all day long次序cìxù · order诞辰dànchén · birthday (of a respected person)当场dāngchǎng · on the spot当代dāngdài · contemporary当前dāngqián · current丁dīng · fourth (in a series)定期dìngqī · regular

FAQs

当初 (dāngchū) means “originally” or “at that time”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it dāngchū: dāng with a 1st tone, then chū with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 当初 is written 當初. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dangchu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 当初 from the suggestions. Typing dangchu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
当初 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.