エリート

エ

リ

ー

ト

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

elite; select group; top-tier

Refers to a person or group considered superior in ability, status, or quality. Often used attributively with の to modify nouns.

from French élite

エリートになるto become an elite (person)
彼かれは努ど力りょくして官かん僚りょうのエリートになった。
He worked hard and became a top bureaucrat.
エリートを目め指ざすto aim to become an elite / top-tier figure
学がく生せいたちはエリートを目め指ざして勉べん強きょうしている。
The students are studying with the aim of becoming elites.
エリートとして〈動どう詞し〉to do something as (in the capacity of) an elite
彼かの女じょはエリートとして活かつ躍やくしている。
She is thriving as a member of the elite.

選せん良りょう
選良 is a formal, literary word for chosen elite figures (often politicians), while エリート is the everyday loanword for any top-tier group.
選せん抜ばつ
選抜 refers to the act or group resulting from a selection process (often in sports or exams), while エリート emphasizes inherent superior status or quality.
秀しゅう才さいN1
秀才 describes an individually brilliant or gifted person, while エリート points to membership in a socially recognized top-tier group.
サラブレッド
Figurative サラブレッド likens a person to a thoroughbred horse emphasizing pedigree, while エリート simply means an elite achiever without the lineage nuance.
精せい鋭えい
エリート is a loanword typically describing an individual's elite status, while 精鋭 emphasizes a handpicked group of highly capable people.

大たい衆しゅうN1
大衆 refers to the ordinary masses, the direct opposite of エリート as a select superior group.
落おちこぼれN1
落ちこぼれ is someone who fails to keep up (e.g. academically), contrasting with エリート as a top performer.
庶しょ民みんN2
エリート refers to the elite or privileged class, standing in contrast to 庶民, the ordinary masses.

貴き族ぞくN2
貴族 means an aristocrat born into hereditary nobility, whereas エリート refers to status earned through ability, education, or career success.

人にん
エリート is counted with 人, the general counter used for people, since it refers to individuals belonging to a select group.

Borrowed from French 'élite', meaning a select group or the best of a class.