DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
材
Mandarin · pinyin cái
Meanings
- material
- timber
- ability
- aptitude
- a capable individual
- coffin (old)
Characters in this entry
- 材
- cái · material, stuff; timber; talent
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · cai2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link8same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
coi4
Cantonese word readings for 材. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- material; stuff
- timber
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 才 (cái, “talent; ability”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack