才 (cái)

Origin:

甲骨文中，“才”的横画表示地面，草木的嫩芽正从地下向上萌发，本义是草木最开始的样子，现有也有“才能”、“刚刚”的意思。
On ancient oracle bone inscriptions, the horizontal stroke of “才” represented the ground and a plant sprouting through the soil. Its original meaning was the shape of a young plant, and today it also means “ability” and “just.”

Meaning:

ability; talent; just; only

Words:

才干(cáigàn): talent; ability
才华(cáihuá): talent; brilliance
才能(cáinéng): ability
天才(tiāncái): genius
刚才(gāngcái): just now

Sentences:

1、ZhōngGuó rén yǒu jù súyǔ, jiàozuò “tiāncái chū yú qínfèn ”.
中国人有句俗语，叫做“天才出于勤奋”。
Chinese people have an old saying that goes, “Genius comes from hard work.”

2、Nǐ gāngcái qù nǎr le? Dàochù dōu zhǎo búdào nǐ.
你刚才去哪儿了？到处都找不到你。
Where were you just now? I couldn’t find you anywhere

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