大器 (dà qì) — great talent; a person of outstanding ability

Definition

Literary/elevated noun meaning 'a person of great talent or potential', often used in set phrases like 大器晚成 (late bloomer with great achievements).

noun

great talenta person of outstanding ability

Easily confused

，大器。
Tā nián qīng shí bìng bù chū sè, dàn hòu lái dà qì wǎn chéng.
He wasn't outstanding when young, but later became a late bloomer with great achievements.
大器。
Zhè wèi kē xué jiā shì guó jiā de dà qì.
This scientist is a national treasure of great talent.
，大器。
Tā suī yǐ zhōng nián, dàn bèi shì wéi dà qì zhī cái.
Although he's already middle-aged, he is regarded as a person of great potential.

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.

器qìvessel; talent

大 'big' and 器 'vessel' picture a great vessel, hence outstanding talent.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.