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成材

Mandarin · pinyin chéng cái

to make sth of oneself
to become a person who is worthy of respect
(of a tree) to grow to full size
to become useful for timber

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Characters in this entry

成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
材: cái · material, stuff; timber; talent

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · cheng2 cai2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sing4 coi4

Cantonese word readings for 成材. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

(literally) to grow into useful timber; to grow to full size
(figuratively) to become a useful person

verb

(Southern Min, Puxian Min) to be of striking appearance; to be fine-looking and talented

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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