天てん才さい

て

ん

さ

い

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

Refers to a person with extraordinary innate talent or the talent itself. Often used admiringly, but can be hyperbolic in casual speech.

Antonyms: 凡才

彼かれは数すう学がくの天てん才さいだ。
He is a mathematical genius.
モーツァルトは音おん楽がくの天てん才さいと呼よばれている。
Mozart is called a musical prodigy.

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Usage patterns

〈事こと〉の天てん才さいa genius at (a field or skill)
彼かれは数すう学がくの天てん才さいだと言いわれている。
He is said to be a genius at mathematics.
天てん才さいと呼よばれるto be called a genius
彼かの女じょは幼おさないころから天てん才さいと呼よばれていた。
She was called a genius from a young age.
天てん才さい的てきな〈物もの〉a stroke of genius; something showing brilliant talent
彼かれの演えん技ぎには天てん才さい的てきなひらめきがあった。
His performance showed a flash of genius.

Expressions

天てん才さいと狂きょう人じんは紙かみ一ひと重えthere's a fine line between genius and insanity
馬ば鹿かと天てん才さいは紙かみ一ひと重えthere is a fine line between genius and insanity

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
才genius, years old, cubic shaku

Related words· 6

秀しゅう才さいN1
天才 implies innate, almost miraculous talent, while 秀才 praises someone for academic brilliance achieved through hard work.
神しん童どう
天才 means 'genius' and can describe a person of any age, while 神童 specifically denotes a child prodigy.
逸いつ材ざいN1
天才 is the common word for an innate genius, while 逸材 more often highlights a person's exceptional professional or athletic potential.
鬼き才さい
天才 is the general, everyday word for 'genius', while 鬼才 suggests a sharper, more startling, even unsettling brilliance often tied to creative work.

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俊しゅん
天才 is the everyday modern word for 'genius', whereas 俊 is an archaic, bookish term rarely used alone in modern speech.
俊しゅん英えい
天才 is the everyday word for a broadly innate genius, whereas 俊英 is a formal term usually reserved for recognized talent in a specific field.

Opposites

凡ぼん才さい
mediocrity; ordinary ability
アホN1
天才 means a genius, the direct opposite of アホ, which labels someone as a fool.
ばかN3
馬鹿 calls someone a fool, while 天才 praises someone as a genius, putting the two at opposite ends of the intelligence scale.
凡ぼん人じんN1
天才 is a genius with extraordinary talent, the direct opposite of a 凡人, someone with no special ability.

Don't confuse with

才さい能のうN3
天才 means a genius or prodigy (a person with extraordinary ability), while 才能 is the abstract talent or ability itself that anyone can possess in some degree.

Word family

天てん才さい児じ
child prodigy
天てん才さい的てき
talented; gifted; prodigious
天てん才さい肌はだ
genius type; having the temperament of a prodigy
天てん才さい教きょう育いく
gifted education; education of gifted children

Etymology

From 天 (heaven) + 才 (talent), literally 'heaven-given talent'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with innate, extraordinary ability.