初

太初

tài chū

the absolute beginning

开初

kāi chū

at the outset

阿初佛

ā chū fó

erroneous variant of 阿閦佛, Aksobhya, the imperturbable ruler of Eastern Paradise, Abhirati

人之初，性本善

rén zhī chū , xìng běn shàn

man at birth is fundamentally good in nature (the first two lines of Three Character Classic 三字經|三字经[San1 zi4 Jing1])

元末明初

yuán mò míng chū

late Yuan and early Ming

凌蒙初

líng méng chū

Ling Mengchu (1580–1644), Ming dynasty short story writer and playwright

初一

chū yī

first day of lunar month

初三

chū sān

third year in junior middle school

初中

chū zhōng

junior high school (abbr. for 初級中學|初级中学[chu1 ji2 zhong1 xue2])

初中生

chū zhōng shēng

junior high student

初二

chū èr

2nd year in junior middle school

初伏

chū fú

the first of the three annual periods of hot weather (三伏[san1 fu2]), which typically begins in mid-July and lasts 10 days