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Chinese/Dictionary entry

一枝独秀

yī zhī dú xiùdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. only one branch of the tree is thriving (idiom) / fig. to be in a league of one's own / outstanding
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-07733373e5635327. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

一枝獨秀 一枝独秀 [yi1 zhi1 du2 xiu4] /lit. only one branch of the tree is thriving (idiom)/fig. to be in a league of one's own/outstanding/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 一枝獨秀

  • 一
    yī

    one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

  • 枝
    zhī

    branch / classifier for sticks, rods, pencils etc

  • 独
    dú

    alone / independent / single / sole / only

  • 秀
    xiù

    (bound form) refined / elegant / graceful / beautiful / (bound form) superior / excellent / (loanword) show (as in 時裝秀|时装秀[shí zhuāng xiù]) / (loanword) to show off / to flaunt (as in 秀廚藝|秀厨艺[xiù chú yì]) / (literary) to grow / to bloom / (of grain crops) to produce ears

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.