英才 (yīng cái) — person of outstanding ability; exceptional tale…

Definition

noun

person of outstanding abilityexceptional talent

Measure word · 个

英才。
Tā shì wǒ men gōng sī zuì nián qīng de yīng cái.
He is the youngest person of outstanding ability in our company.
英才。
Zhè suǒ dà xué péi yǎng le wú shù yīng cái.
This university has nurtured countless exceptional talents.
英才。
Zhèng fǔ tuī chū le xīn de yīng cái yǐn jìn jì huà.
The government launched a new plan to attract outstanding talents.

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.

英yīngoutstanding

The sense of 英 as outstanding and 才 as talent gives a person of exceptional ability.

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.

艹央英

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

央

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

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

才 originally drew a sharp peg, not a sprout growing from the ground.