才 (cái) - talent, ability & just, only then

才Tone 2

cái ｜ 3 strokes ｜ radical: 扌

偲嫦

才 · cái

talent, ability;

just, only then;

a moment ago;

used to indicate something happened recently or with difficulty

talent, abilityjust, only thena moment ago

Usage highlights

talentgeniusliterary talentjust nowonly thenability

Synonyms

  • 才能— talent, ability
  • 才干— capability, competence
  • 才华— literary or artistic talent

Antonyms

  • 庸— mediocre, ordinary
  • 拙— clumsy, awkward

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He is very talented (很有才).
  • I just arrived (才到).
  • Only then did I understand (才明白).
  • It took a long time to finish (才完成).

Collocations

  • talent(才能)
  • genius(天才)
  • literary talent(文才)
  • just now(刚才)
  • only then(才...)
  • ability(才干)

Idioms

  • Multi-talented(多才多艺)
  • Talented and beautiful(才貌双全)
  • Brilliant literary talent(才华横溢)
  • A talented woman(才女)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Highly valued in Chinese culture as one of the key virtues, especially in scholarly and artistic contexts.
  • Often used in names to express parents' hope for their child to be talented and successful.
  • In classical Chinese, also functions as an adverb meaning 'just', 'only then', or 'a moment ago'.

FAQ