优等 (yōu děng) — top grade, superior class

Definition

Literacy-/academic-style word for a top tier or grade, often paired with nouns like 成绩 or 评价. More formal than 上等 and stronger than 良好.

noun

top gradesuperior class

优等。
Zhè jiā gōng sī zhī chū shòu yōu děng chǎn pǐn.
This company only sells top-grade products.
优等。
Tā de yōu děng chéng jì ràng tā shùn lì jìn rù dà xué.
His top-grade results allowed him to smoothly enter university.
，优等。
Zài bǐ sài zhōng, tā huò dé le yōu děng píng jià.
In the competition, he received a top-grade evaluation.

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yōusuperior

优 points to excellence, while 等 marks grade, giving the sense of top grade.

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.

亻憂優

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.

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

竹寺等

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.

Appears in