秀才

xiùcai

noun #63,904

Meanings

1 xiucai (scholar who passed county-level imperial exam)
2 scholar
3 bookish person

Characters

elegant, outstanding

Examples

他爷爷是清末的秀才。

Tā yéye shì Qīng mò de xiùcai.

His grandfather was a xiucai in the late Qing.

秀才不出门，便知天下事。

Xiùcai bù chūmén, biàn zhī tiānxià shì.

A scholar need not leave home to know the affairs of the world.

别装秀才了，干点活吧。

Bié zhuāng xiùcai le, gàn diǎn huó ba.

Stop playing the scholar and do some work.

Tips

history

The lowest of three imperial exam degrees (秀才 → 举人 → 进士). Passing 秀才 exempted one from corvée labor and corporal punishment but did not guarantee an official post.

usage

In modern speech often ironic, applied to someone book-smart but impractical.

Stroke Order

秀 xiù

才 cái