The story of 兆

sign, omen

兆 depicts two men running away from the river. Flood is the major disaster in Ancient China, so when the river is in spate, people will know it is the sign of flood, so they escape away from the river, but such meaning has been replaced by 逃, now 兆 means the sign that something is about to happen. On the other hand, 兆 also represents a great amount, now means trillion.