大 才 小 用

dà cái xiǎo yòngdictionary entry

variant of 大材小用[dà cái xiǎo yòng]

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-9d7999c848609558. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

大才小用大才小用 [da4 cai2 xiao3 yong4] /variant of 大材小用[da4 cai2 xiao3 yong4]/

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.

大
dà
big / large / great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly / freely / fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)
dài
see 大夫[dài fu]
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
小
xiǎo
small / tiny / few / young
用
yòng
to use / to make use of / to employ / (coverb) with / using / to need / to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions) / usefulness / utility / (bound form) expense / outlay / (courteous) to eat / to drink / (literary) hence / therefore

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.