秀 才

xiù caidictionary entry

a person who has passed the county level imperial exam (historical) / scholar / skillful writer / fine talent

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-11699075385559eb. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

秀才 秀才 [xiu4 cai5] /a person who has passed the county level imperial exam (historical)/scholar/skillful writer/fine talent/

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.

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
才
cái
ability / talent / sb of a certain type / a capable individual / then and only then / just now / (before an expression of quantity) only / (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) really / actually / (variant of 才[cái]) just now / (variant of 才[cái]) (before an expression of quantity) only

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.