DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

精英

Mandarin · pinyin jīng yīng

cream
elite
essence
quintessence

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

精: jīng · essence; semen; spirit
英: yīng · petal, flower, leaf; brave, a hero; England, English

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1 · jing1 ying1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links1same-tone record

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

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.

精英 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zing1 jing1

Cantonese word readings for 精英. 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

best feature or most important part (of something); essence; quintessence
elite; cream

adj

(Mainland China Hokkien) in high spirits; full of vigor
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) clear-headed; sober

verb

(Zhangzhou Hokkien) to be good at understanding others
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) to wake up

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

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