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优等生 (yōu děng shēng) — top student; outstanding student

Definition

noun
top studentoutstanding student
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 优等生。
    Tā shì yì míng yōu děng shēng.
    He is a top student.
  • ，优等生。
    Tā měi cì kǎo shì dōu dé dì yī míng, shì bān lǐ de yōu děng shēng.
    She gets first place in every exam and is the top student in the class.
  • 优等生。
    Tā píng zhe yì gǔ nǔ lì cóng pǔ tōng xué shēng biàn chéng le yōu děng shēng.
    Through hard work, he transformed from an ordinary student into a top student.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

优等top grade
优yōuexcellent等děnggrade
偏正Modifier + head
生shēngstudent

“优” means excellent, “等” means grade, and “生” means student, giving a top-grade student.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 優; 优 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
憂
憂yōu優yōu
Same sound today

The traditional form 優 combines 亻 (人, person) with 憂 for the sound; the simplified 优 is a later abbreviation.

Open 优 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →
Appears in
School & Education

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