Meaning
天才 refers to a person with exceptional natural ability or intelligence, a genius. It can describe someone with extraordinary talent in a specific field or someone who is exceptionally smart overall. The term emphasizes innate ability rather than learned skills.
Usage
天才 is commonly used both as a noun to describe a genius person and as a compliment or exclamation. It can be used seriously to describe truly exceptional individuals, or more casually among friends to praise someone's clever idea or skill. Often appears in the pattern '是个天才' (is a genius) or as a modifier like '天才儿童' (gifted child).
Examples
- 01爱因斯坦是二十世纪最伟大的科学天才。.Einstein was the greatest scientific genius of the twentieth century.
- 02你想出这个办法，真是个天才！, !You came up with this solution—you're a genius!
Characters
Measure words
- 个一个天才
- 位一位天才
Common collocations
- 音乐天才musical genius
- 天才儿童gifted child
- 天才少年young genius
- 数学天才math genius
Antonyms
Origin
The compound literally means 'heaven's talent' or 'natural ability,' combining 天 (heaven/nature) with 才 (talent/ability), emphasizing that the exceptional ability is inborn or heaven-given rather than acquired through effort alone.