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天资 (tiān zī) — natural talent, innate ability, endowment

Definition

天资 refers to the natural gifts or innate ability a person is born with, emphasizing potential rather than effort. More literary than 才能, which highlights ability shown through performance.

noun
natural talentinnate abilityendowment

Examples

  • 天资，。
    Tā tiān zī cōng yǐng, xué shén me dōu hěn kuài.
    She is naturally gifted and learns everything quickly.
  • 天资，。
    Zhè hái zi tiān zī bú cuò, dàn hái xū yào nǔ lì.
    This child has good natural talent, but still needs to work hard.
  • 天资，。
    Guāng kào tiān zī shì bú gòu de, qín fèn gèng zhòng yào.
    Relying solely on natural talent is not enough; diligence is more important.

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.

天tiānnatural
资zīendowment

天 (natural) and 资 (endowment) mean talent given by nature.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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 資; 资 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell-money
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì資zī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 資 puts 次 above 貝, a shell-money sign, to write property or resource; 次 supplies the sound. The simplified 资 is a shorthand, so do not treat its parts as historical.

Open 资 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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