当初

dāng chū

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 6 Noun Common

Definitions

1 item

nowadays

如今 means now or nowadays, opposite to the past time expressed by 当初.

1 item

first

最初 also means at first or originally, often interchangeable with 当初.

Often used with 为什么 or 如果 to contrast past and present, e.g., 你当初为什么选择这个专业？

Don't confuse with 当时, which simply means 'at that time' without the contrastive nuance.

1 shown

你当初为什么学习中文？

Why did you start learning Chinese in the first place?

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

to regret one's past deeds (idiom)

see 早知今日何必當初|早知今日何必当初[zǎo zhī jīn rì hé bì dāng chū]

if I (you, she, he...) had known it would come to this, I (you, she, he...) would not have acted thus (idiom)

at first

(onom.) dong

at or in the very same...