才
cái
Pinyin

Definition

才
 - 
cái
  1. ability
  2. talent
  3. sb of a certain type
  4. a capable individual
  5. only
  6. only then
  7. just now
才 (纔)
 - 
cái
  1. a moment ago
  2. just now
  3. (indicating sth happening later than expected)
  4. (preceded by a clause of condition or reason) not until
  5. (followed by a numerical clause) only

Character Decomposition

Compounds (8)

团
tuán
  1. 1 round
  2. 2 lump
  3. 3 ball
  4. 4 to roll into a ball
  5. 5 to gather
  6. 6 regiment
  7. 7 group
  8. 8 society
  9. 9 classifier for a lump or a soft mass: wad (of paper), ball (of wool), cloud (of smoke)
团
tuán
  1. 1 dumpling
财
cái
  1. 1 money
  2. 2 wealth
  3. 3 riches
  4. 4 property
  5. 5 valuables
材
cái
  1. 1 material
  2. 2 timber
  3. 3 ability
  4. 4 aptitude
  5. 5 a capable individual
  6. 6 coffin (old)
闭
bì
  1. 1 to close
  2. 2 to stop up
  3. 3 to shut
  4. 4 to obstruct

Related Words (20)

才
cái
  1. 1 ability
  2. 2 talent
  3. 3 sb of a certain type
  4. 4 a capable individual
  5. 5 only
  6. 6 only then
  7. 7 just now
人才
rén cái
  1. 1 talent
  2. 2 talented person
  3. 3 looks
  4. 4 attractive looks
刚才
gāng cái
  1. 1 just now
  2. 2 a moment ago
天才
tiān cái
  1. 1 talent
  2. 2 gift
  3. 3 genius
  4. 4 talented
  5. 5 gifted
人尽其才
rén jìn qí cái
  1. 1 employ one's talent to the fullest
  2. 2 everyone gives of their best

Idioms (20)

不打不成才
bù dǎ bù chéng cái
  1. 1 spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)
人才济济
rén cái jǐ jǐ
  1. 1 a galaxy of talent (idiom)
  2. 2 a great number of competent people
佳人才子
jiā rén cái zǐ
  1. 1 beautiful lady, gifted scholar (idiom)
  2. 2 pair of ideal lovers
博学多才
bó xué duō cái
  1. 1 erudite and multi-talented (idiom); versatile and able
天妒英才
tiān dù yīng cái
  1. 1 heaven is jealous of heroic genius (idiom); the great have great hardship to contend with
  2. 2 those whom the Gods love die young

Sample Sentences

不多，才五百个作业员，十条生产线。
bù duō ，cái wǔ bǎi ge zuòyèyuán ，shí tiáo shēngchǎnxiàn 。
Not many. There’s only five hundred workers and ten production lines.
Go to Lesson 
别客气！做生意不重要，做朋友才实在，对吧？
bié kèqi ！zuòshēngyi bù zhòngyào ，zuò péngyou cái shízài ，duì ba ？
It's ok! Doing business is not important as making friends. Right?
Go to Lesson 
到后来才发现爱你是一种习惯，我学会和你说一样的谎。
dào hòulái cái fāxiàn ài nǐ shì yīzhǒng xíguàn ，wǒ xuéhuì hé nǐ shuō yīyàng de huǎng 。
It was only later that I figured that loving you was a habit. I’ve learned to tell lies like you did.
Go to Lesson 
女孩儿又递给他两张票，说：不好意思，昨晚我不小心拿到错的票放进信封里了。那两张是我在上海的跳蚤市场淘到的古董，这两张才是这周六的门票，就这么巧，恰恰是一样的日期。
nǚháiēr yòu dì gěi tā liǎng zhāng piào ，shuō ：bùhǎoyìsi ，zuówǎn wǒ bù xiǎoxīn nádào cuò de piào fàngjìn xìnfēng lǐ le 。nà liǎng zhāng shì wǒ zài Shànghǎi de tiàozǎoshìchǎng táo dào de gǔdǒng ，zhè liǎng zhāng cái shì zhè zhōuliù de ménpiào ，jiù zhème qiǎo ，qiàqià shì yīyàng de rìqī 。
The girl gave him two tickets again, and she said, "Sorry, I put the wrong tickets into the envelope last night. Those are the antique I picked out at a flea market in Shanghai, and these two tickets are the ones for this Saturday. It's such a coincidence that they're the same date." She said.
Go to Lesson 
后来秦宇向女孩儿的邻居们打听，才知道原来女孩儿7月31日在上海看完话剧表演后，在回酒店的路上被一个酒后驾车的司机撞上，当场身亡，香消玉陨了，而8月7日那天正好是女孩儿的头七。
hòulái QínYǔ xiàng nǚháiēr de línjū men dǎting ，cái zhīdào yuánlái nǚháiēr yuè rì zài Shànghǎi kàn wán huàjù biǎoyǎn hòu ，zài huí jiǔdiàn de lùshang bèi yīgè jiǔhòu jiàchē de sījī zhuàng shàng ，dāngchǎng shēnwáng ，xiāngxiāoyùyǔn le ，ér yuè rì nàtiān zhènghǎo shì nǚháiēr de tóuqī 。
Afterwards, QinYu asked the girl's neighbor. As it turned out, the girl got hit by a drunk driver on her way back to the hotel, right after she watched the play in Shanghai on 31st of July. She died at the scene. This pretty girl perished along with her fragrance. August 7th is the 7th day after her death.
Go to Lesson 
秦宇心想，”才说只要她再出现我就约她，隔天竟然就出现了。”
Qínyǔ xīnxiǎng ，”cái shuō zhǐyào tā zài chūxiàn wǒ jiù yuē tā ，gétiān jìngrán jiù chūxiàn le 。”
Qinyu thought to himself, "I was just saying if she appears again, I'll ask her on a date. She then appeared the next day. "
Go to Lesson 
铁饭碗也会生锈啊，你待的私人企业才好，说不定快升职了呢！
tiěfànwǎn yě huì shēngxiù a ，nǐ dāi de sīrén qǐyè cái hǎo ，shuōbudìng kuài shēngzhí le ne ！
Stable jobs still wear out! Staying at a private business like you is better. Perhaps you are about to get a promotion!
Go to Lesson 
还行，我上个月才报到，现在只是在跑龙套。
hái xíng ，wǒ shànggèyuè cái bàodào ，xiànzài zhǐshì zài pǎolóngtào 。
It's okay. I only started last month, so I only play a small role.
Go to Lesson 
听起来你是要我拍马屁，当墙头草吧。这种事我才不干。
tīngqilai nǐ shì yào wǒ pāimǎpì ，dāng qiángtóucǎo ba 。zhèzhǒng shì wǒ cái bù gàn 。
It sounds like you want me to butter everyone up and be a pushover. I'm not doing these things.
Go to Lesson 
女孩儿每次点完咖啡，就站在柜台前面，不发一语地看着秦宇制作她的咖啡，只有从秦宇手中接过咖啡时，才报以一个浅浅的微笑和一句谢谢，随即就离开了。
nǚháiēr měicì diǎn wán kāfēi ，jiù zhàn zài guìtái qiánmiàn ，bùfāyìyǔ de kàn zhe qínyǔ zhìzuò tā de kāfēi ，zhǐ yǒu cóng qínyǔ shǒu zhōng jiēguò kāfēi shí ，cái bàoyǐ yīgē qiǎnqiǎn de wēixiào hé yījù xièxie ，suíjí jiù líkāi le 。
Every time after ordering her coffee, she would stand in front of the counter and watch QinYu making her coffee silently. Only when she took her coffee from QinYu, she would give him a little smile and a “thank you”. Then she would leave the shop.
Go to Lesson