Meaning of 天才
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- talent
- gift
- genius
- talented
- gifted
How to use 天才
天才 is mostly a noun for a genius or a person with great natural talent. It can also describe natural gift, as in 音乐天才 (yīnyuè tiāncái, musical genius). Example: 他是一个数学天才。 (Tā shì yí gè shùxué tiāncái.) He is a math genius.
天 (tiān) means sky or heaven, and 才 (cái) means ability or talent. A 天才 is someone whose talent seems to come straight from the sky, a gift from heaven.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 才 (cái) with オ-like shapes or with 寸 (cùn). 才 has a hook going down and a slanted stroke crossing it. Also, 才 here means talent, not the adverb "only then" as in 他才来 (tā cái lái, he just came).
天才 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
才 cái · ability · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 天才.
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half of the day; a long time |
| 前天 | qiántiān | the day before yesterday |
| 刚才 | gāngcái | just now; a moment ago |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring (season) |
Questions about 天才
What does 天才 mean?
天才 (tiāncái) means "talent; gift" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 天才?
天才 is made of 2 characters: 天 (4 strokes), 才 (3 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 天才 an HSK word?
Yes. 天才 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 天才 and 人才?
天才 (tiāncái) is a genius with exceptional inborn talent. 人才 (réncái) is a broader word for a capable, qualified person, often used about the workforce, as in 招聘人才 (zhāopìn réncái, recruit talent).
Can 天才 be used jokingly or sarcastically?
Yes. Like "genius" in English, people say 你真是个天才 (nǐ zhēn shì gè tiāncái) to tease someone who did something silly. The tone of voice and context tell you which meaning is intended.