拔尖 (bá jiān) — top-notch, outstanding; to push oneself to the front, to be overly competitive

Definition

Means 'top-notch, outstanding' (students, talent, skills). Also used as a verb meaning to push oneself ahead of others, often with negative connotations of being overly competitive.

adjective
top-notchoutstandingto push oneself to the frontto be overly competitive

Examples

  • 拔尖。
    Tā zài shù xué fāng miàn shì bá jiān de.
    He is top-notch in mathematics.
  • 拔尖，。
    Nǐ bié zǒng xiǎng bá jiān, hé zuò gèng zhòng yào.
    Don't always try to push yourself to the front; cooperation is more important.
  • 拔尖，。
    Suī rán tā xué xí bá jiān, dàn cóng bù jiāo ào.
    Although she is top-notch in her studies, she is never arrogant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

拔bápull
尖jiāntip

Pulling out the tip suggests standing out above the rest, hence top-notch.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
犮
犮bá拔bá
Same sound today

In 拔, the left side 扌 is a hand and the right side 犮 gives the sound; the shape pictures a hand pulling.

Open 拔 →

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

尖 puts 小 (small) above 大 (large), showing the width of an object gradually changing from small to large.

Open 尖 →

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