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颖

穎
yǐng
noun #32,028

Meanings

  1. 1 head / ear of grain
  2. 2 tip; pointed end (of an awl or brush)
  3. 3 (figurative) clever; intelligent; gifted

Examples

她从小聪明颖悟。
Tā cóng xiǎo cōngmíng yǐngwù.
She has been clever and quick-witted since childhood.
锥处囊中，颖脱而出。
Zhuī chǔ náng zhōng, yǐng tuō ér chū.
When an awl is placed in a bag, its point comes through (talent will out).

Tips

history
The chengyu 脱颖而出 (tuō yǐng ér chū, 'the tip pokes through') comes from 《史记·平原君虞卿列传》 (Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Lord Pingyuan): when a young Mao Sui asked to join the Lord's diplomatic mission, Lord Pingyuan compared a man of talent to an awl in a bag — the point would inevitably poke through the cloth. Mao retorted that he had only just been put in the bag. Today the phrase means 'someone's outstanding talent suddenly becomes visible'.
memory
Three connected meanings, all radiating from 'pointed tip': (1) the awn/tip of a grain, (2) the writing tip of a brush or awl, (3) figuratively, the sharp tip of intellect — hence 颖悟 (yǐngwù, sharp-witted), 聪颖 (cōngyǐng, bright-minded). 颖 is also extremely common in given names for the same reason.

Stroke Order

颖 yǐng