秀しゅう才さい

しゅ

う

さ

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

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

bright person; talented student; prodigy

Refers to someone with outstanding academic ability or intellectual talent, often a student. Can be used as a noun or with の to modify another noun.

彼かれは小ちいさい頃ころから秀しゅう才さいと呼よばれていた。
He was called a prodigy from a young age.
彼かの女じょは学がっ校こうで一いち番ばんの秀しゅう才さいだ。
She is the brightest student in the school.

See all 11 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉の秀しゅう才さいthe top student/prodigy of a place (school, class, etc.)
彼かれはこの学がっ校こうの秀しゅう才さいとして有ゆう名めいだ。
He's famous as the top student of this school.
秀しゅう才さいと呼よばれるto be called a prodigy/bright student
彼かの女じょは小ちいさい頃ころから秀しゅう才さいと呼よばれていた。
She has been called a prodigy since she was little.
〈事こと〉の秀しゅう才さいa prodigy in a particular field or subject
彼かれは数すう学がくの秀しゅう才さいだと言いわれている。
He's said to be a math prodigy.

Kanji

秀excel, excellence, beauty
才genius, years old, cubic shaku

Related words· 7

天てん才さいN2
天才 describes innate, extraordinary genius, while 秀才 describes talent built through hard work and study.
優ゆう等とう生せいN1
優等生 is a top student judged by grades within a school, whereas 秀才 refers more broadly to someone with strong intellectual ability.
俊しゅん英えい
秀才 highlights strong academic performance and diligence, while 俊英 is a more literary term for innate, exceptional brilliance often noted by others.
神しん童どう
秀才 describes someone who excels through diligence and academic skill, whereas 神童 implies an almost miraculous, innate talent seen in a child.

Show 3 more

鬼き才さい
秀才 describes someone academically brilliant and hardworking, whereas 鬼才 implies a wilder, more instinctive or eccentric kind of genius.
逸いつ材ざいN1
秀才 typically describes someone academically excellent or a top student, whereas 逸材 emphasizes rare, standout potential in any field.
エリート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.

Opposites

鈍どん才さい
鈍才 means a person of dull or mediocre talent, the opposite of the bright, gifted 秀才.

Etymology

From Chinese 秀才 (xiùcái), originally a title for a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. In Japanese, it came to mean a person of outstanding academic talent.