天才

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	ability; talent; endowment ability; talent; endowment; gift; an expert; only (then); only if; just
simp. and trad. (天才)		天	才

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiāncái

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄘㄞˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ coi⁴

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thiên-chhòi
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): thian-châi

  (Teochew, Peng'im): tin¹ cai⁵ / tiang¹ cai⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹thi-ze

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiāncái
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄘㄞˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tiancái
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-tsʻai²
    • Yale: tyān-tsái
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tiantsair
    • Palladius: тяньцай (tjanʹcaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tin¹ coi⁴
    • Yale: tīn chòih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ tsoi⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ coi⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thiên-chhòi
    • Hakka Romanization System: tien´ coiˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tian¹ coi²
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en²⁴ t͡sʰoi̯¹¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-châi
    • Tâi-lô: thian-tsâi
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tienzaai
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sai²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ t͡sai²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sai¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sai²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sai²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: tin¹ cai⁵ / tiang¹ cai⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thiⁿ tshâi / thiang tshâi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰĩ³³⁻²³ t͡sʰai⁵⁵/, /tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ t͡sʰai⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹thi-ze
    • MiniDict: thi^平 ze
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹thi-ze
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰi⁵⁵ ze²¹/

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• Middle Chinese: then dzoj

Rime
Character	天	才
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	從 (15)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	咍 (41)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	I
Fanqie	他前切	昨哉切
Baxter	then	dzoj
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰen/	/d͡zʌi/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰen/	/d͡zəi/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɛn/	/d͡zɒi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰɛn/	/d͡zəj/
Li Rong	/tʰen/	/d͡zᴀi/
Wang Li	/tʰien/	/d͡zɒi/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰien/	/d͡zʱɑ̆i/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tiān	cái
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tin1	coi4

Noun

天才

1. talent; gift; genius
2. talented or gifted person; genius

Synonyms

• (talent):

• 一手
• 人才 (réncái)
• 伎倆／伎俩 (jìliǎng) (literary)
• 俊才 (jùncái)
• 兩手／两手 (liǎngshǒu)
• 力 (lì) (literary, or in compounds)
• 力量 (lìliàng)
• 功力 (gōnglì)
• 功夫 (gōngfu) (especially in martial arts)
• 才具 (cáijù) (formal)
• 才力 (cáilì)
• 才器 (cáiqì) (literary)
• 才幹／才干 (cáigàn)
• 才情 (cáiqíng)
• 手段 (shǒuduàn)
• 手法 (shǒufǎ)
• 手眼 (shǒuyǎn)
• 才能
• 手腕 (shǒuwàn)
• 手腕子 (shou³ onn³ zr) (Xiang)
• 才華／才华 (cáihuá)
• 技巧 (jìqiǎo)
• 把式 (bǎshì) (dialectal)
• 技能 (jìnéng)
• 技藝／技艺 (jìyì)
• 技術／技术 (jìshù)
• 招數／招数 (zhāoshù)
• 本事
• 本領／本领 (běnlǐng)
• 材幹／材干 (cáigān) (Classical Chinese)
• 能力 (nénglì)
• 能為／能为 (néngwéi) (literary, dialectal)
• 能耐 (néngnài) (colloquial)
• 能量 (néngliàng)
• 花頭／花头 (Wu)
• 著數／着数
• 解數／解数
• 資力／资力 (zīlì)
• 路數／路数 (lùshù)
• 身手 (shēnshǒu)
• 道行

 

• (talented person):

• 人才 (réncái)
• 俊才 (jùncái)
• 有天才的人 (yǒu tiāncái de rén)
• 材料 (cáiliào) (figurative)
• 棟樑／栋梁 (dòngliáng) (figurative)
• 菁英／精英 (jīngyīng) (elite)

 

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “talented person”):

• 庸才 (yōngcái)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (天才):

• → Japanese: 天才(てんさい) (tensai)
• → Korean: 천재(天才) (cheonjae)
• → Vietnamese: thiên tài (天才)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	才
てん Grade: 1	さい Grade: 2
on’yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) てんさい [tèńsáí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ɰ̃sa̠i]

Noun

天(てん)才(さい) • (tensai) 

1. genius

Synonyms

• 秀才(しゅうさい) (shūsai): clever person

Antonyms

• 凡才(ぼんさい) (bonsai): mediocrity, (person of) ordinary ability
• 馬鹿(ばか) (baka): idiot

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean

Hanja in this term
天	才

Noun

天才 • (cheonjae) (hangeul 천재)

1. Hanja form^? of 천재 (“genius”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
天	才

Noun

天才

1. chữ Hán form of thiên tài (“genius”).