天才

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	ability; talent; endowment ability; talent; endowment; gift; an expert; only (then); only if; just
simp. and trad. (天才)		天	才

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): tiāncái

(Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢㄘㄞˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ coi⁴
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thiên-chhòi
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): thian-châi

(Teochew, Peng'im): tin¹ cai⁵ / tiang¹ cai⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹thi-ze

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tiāncái
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢㄘㄞˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: tiancái
  - Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-tsʻai²
  - Yale: tyān-tsái
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tiantsair
  - Palladius: тяньцай (tjanʹcaj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: tin¹ coi⁴
  - Yale: tīn chòih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ tsoi⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ coi⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thiên-chhòi
  - Hakka Romanization System: tien^ˊ coi^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: tian¹ coi²
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en²⁴ t͡sʰoi̯¹¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-châi
  - Tâi-lô: thian-tsâi
  - Phofsit Daibuun: tienzaai
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sai²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ t͡sai²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sai¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sai²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sai²³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: tin¹ cai⁵ / tiang¹ cai⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thiⁿ tshâi / thiang tshâi
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰĩ³³⁻²³ t͡sʰai⁵⁵/, /tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ t͡sʰai⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹thi-ze
  - MiniDict: thi^平 ze
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹thi-ze
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰi⁵⁵ ze²¹/

Middle Chinese: then dzoj

Rime
Character	天	才
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	從 (15)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	咍 (41)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	I
Fanqie	他前切	昨哉切
Baxter	then	dzoj
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰen/	/d͡zʌi/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰen/	/d͡zəi/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɛn/	/d͡zɒi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰɛn/	/d͡zəj/
Li Rong	/tʰen/	/d͡zᴀi/
Wang Li	/tʰien/	/d͡zɒi/
Bernhard Karlgren	/tʰien/	/d͡zʱɑ̆i/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tiān	cái
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tin¹	coi⁴

Noun

天才

talent; gift; genius
talented or gifted person; genius

Synonyms

(talent):

edit

一手
人才 (réncái)
伎倆 / 伎俩 (jìliǎng) (literary)
俊才 (jùncái)
兩手 / 两手 (liǎngshǒu)
力 (lì) (literary, or in compounds)
力量 (lìliàng)
功力 (gōnglì)
功夫 (gōngfu) (especially in martial arts)
才具 (cáijù) (formal)
才力 (cáilì)
才器 (cáiqì) (literary)
才幹 / 才干 (cáigàn)
才情 (cáiqíng)
手段 (shǒuduàn)
手法 (shǒufǎ)
手眼 (shǒuyǎn)
才能 (cáinéng)
手腕 (shǒuwàn)
手腕子 (shou³ onn³ zr) (Xiang)
才華 / 才华 (cáihuá)
技巧 (jìqiǎo)
把式 (bǎshì) (dialectal)
技能 (jìnéng)
技藝 / 技艺 (jìyì)
技術 / 技术 (jìshù)
招數 / 招数 (zhāoshù)
本事
本領 / 本领 (běnlǐng)
材幹 / 材干 (cáigān) (Classical Chinese)
能力 (nénglì)
能為 / 能为 (néngwéi) (literary, dialectal)
能耐 (néngnài) (colloquial)
能量 (néngliàng)
花頭 / 花头 (Wu)
著數 / 着数
解數 / 解数
資力 / 资力 (zīlì)
路數 / 路数 (lùshù)
身手 (shēnshǒu)
道行

(talented person):

edit

人才 (réncái)
俊才 (jùncái)
有天才的人 (yǒu tiāncái de rén)
材料 (cáiliào) (figurative)
棟樑 / 栋梁 (dòngliáng) (figurative)
菁英 / 精英 (jīngyīng) (elite)

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “talented person”):

edit

庸才 (yōngcái)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (天才):

→ Japanese: 天才(てんさい) (tensai)
→ Korean: 천재(天才) (cheonjae)
→ Vietnamese: thiên tài (天才)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	才
てん Grade: 1	さい Grade: 2
on'yomi

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) てんさい [tèńsáí] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ɰ̃sa̠i]

Noun

天(てん)才(さい) • (tensai)

genius

Synonyms

秀才(しゅうさい) (shūsai): clever person

Antonyms

凡才(ぼんさい) (bonsai): mediocrity, (person of) ordinary ability
馬鹿(ばか) (baka): idiot

References

^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean

Hanja in this term
天	才

Noun

天才 • (cheonjae) (hangeul 천재)

hanja form^? of 천재 (“genius”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
天	才

Noun

天才

chữ Hán form of thiên tài (“genius”)

[NHK-1] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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