• 前兆ぜんちょう — omen, sign
• 兆候ちょうこう — symptom, sign, indication
• 吉兆きっちょう — lucky omen
• 兆しきざし — sign, indication
• 一兆円いっちょうえん — one trillion yen

The character 兆 originally depicted a crack or fissure in turtle shells used for fortune-telling. From there, it came to represent signs or omens of future events.

In modern Japanese, it also represents the number “trillion” (10¹²), especially in financial or economic contexts.

空そらに虹にじが 出でたのは良よい兆きざしです。
A rainbow in the sky is a good sign.

景気けいきの回復かいふくの兆候ちょうこうが 見みえてきました。
We are starting to see signs of economic recovery.

“Kizashi” means a sign or early indication — often used for changes, trends, or hope. “Chou” is used in large numbers, like “itchou-en” for one trillion yen.