首屈一指

Mandarin · pinyin shǒu qū yī zhǐ

Meanings

  1. to count as number one (idiom); second to none
  2. outstanding
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Characters in this entry

首
shǒu · head; first; leader, chief; a poem; Kangxi radical 185
屈
qū · bend, flex; bent, crooked; crouch
一
yī · one; a, an; alone
指
zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–1–1–3 · shou3 qu1 yi1 zhi3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau2 wat1 jat1 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 首屈一指. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

sau2 wat1 jat1 zi2

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) first
  2. (idiomatic) number one; come first on the list; be matchless; be second to none; come out first; thumbs up

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack