兆
Zhao4
#2,241 most
frequent character
surname Zhao
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
兆 first pictured two people escaping water, so the first sense was 'to escape, flee.' The senses 'cracks on oracle bones' and 'million' were borrowed for their sound, not from the picture. From the crack sense came 'to foretell; omen.'
Drawn as: two people escaping water
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