Chinese Character Wiki
才

cái

talent

Original meaning: 

wooden post

Originally a pictograph of a wooden post, similar to 弋. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Evolution

才 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
才 Bronze script Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze script

Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
才 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
才 Clerical script Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
才 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

才  

cái

talent, ability; just, only; ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; only; only then; just now

才 (纔) 

cái

a moment ago; (indicating sth happening later than expected); (preceded by a clause of condition or reason) not until; (followed by a numerical clause) only

Most common words with 才
Freq.
Word
Meaning

才

ability

刚才

just now

才能

talent

人才

talent

天才

talent

Component uses

Sound component in 8 characters (8 verified)

在 存 財 财 材 豺 𢦏 𢦔

Simplified component in 1 character (1 verified)

团

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*[dz]ˤə

dzoj

cái

talent, ability


Statistics

HSK level 2

Appears in 98.5584% of movies

179th most common character in movies

235th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

3

Unicode

U+624D

Shuowen

“才，艸木之初也。从丨上貫一，將生枝葉。一，地也。”


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