DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
秀才
Mandarin · pinyin xiù cai
Meanings
- a person who has passed the county level imperial exam (historical)
- scholar
- skillful writer
- fine talent
Characters in this entry
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4–5 · xiu4 cai5
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
2character links
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
sau3 coi4
Cantonese word readings for 秀才. 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.
noun
- (historical) licentiate (scholar who has passed the entry-level examination to study at a college)
- (historical) synonym of 孝廉 (xiàolián), a person recommended for a government post by local governors
- (by extension) scholar; intellectual; person of knowledge
- (Philippine Hokkien, dice games) a dice roll with one face of four in a Mooncake Festival Dice Game
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack