兆
Meanings
1
trillion; 10^12; 1,000,000,000,000
Japanese large-number unit equal to 10^12; commonly used before counters and units such as 円.
That project will cost more than one trillion yen.
The national debt exceeds one quadrillion yen.
2
sign; omen; indication; portent
As ちょう meaning a sign or omen, it is most often seen inside compounds such as 吉兆, 凶兆, and 前兆 rather than as a bare everyday noun.
The white deer was regarded as a good omen.
This symptom may be a sign of illness.
Usage patterns
- 〈数〉兆円... trillion yen (used for large sums of money, e.g. budgets)
Japan's national budget is about 100 trillion yen.
- 〈数〉兆に達するto reach ... trillion (in a total or figure)
This company's sales reached 1 trillion yen.