HSK 6 · Ideas

优胜劣汰 yōushèngliètài “survival of the fittest” in Chinese

Traditional 優勝劣汰

What 优胜劣汰 means

  1. survival of the fittest
  2. (idiom) survival of the fittest

How to say 优胜劣汰

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale优yōu1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale胜shèng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale劣liè4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale汰tài4th tone, falling

优胜劣汰 in a sentence

  1. 市场竞争就是优胜劣汰。

    Shìchǎng jìngzhēng jiùshì yōushèngliètài.

    Market competition means survival of the fittest.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 大自然的规律是优胜劣汰。

    Dàzìrán de guīlǜ shì yōushèngliètài.

    The law of nature is survival of the fittest.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 优胜劣汰 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 优 (yōu) with each of its parts in a different colour
优yōuexcellent
  • 亻person form of 人 · rénMeaning part
  • 尤especially · yóuSound part

亻 hints at the meaning (person); 尤 (yóu) hints at the sound. Compare it with yōu.

The character 胜 (shèng) with each of its parts in a different colour
胜shèngvictory
  • ⺼meat form of 肉 · ròuMeaning part
  • 生life · shēngSound part

⺼ hints at the meaning (meat); 生 (shēng) hints at the sound. Compare it with shèng.

The character 劣 (liè) with each of its parts in a different colour
劣lièinferior
  • 少few · shǎoMeaning part
  • 力strength · lìSound part

少 hints at the meaning (few); 力 (lì) hints at the sound. Compare it with liè.

The character 汰 (tài) with each of its parts in a different colour
汰tàito discard
  • 氵water form of 水 · shuǐMeaning part
  • 太very · tàiSound part

氵 hints at the meaning (water); 太 (tài) hints at the sound. Compare it with tài.

How to write 优胜劣汰

优 6 strokes · 胜 9 strokes · 劣 6 strokes · 汰 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

优胜劣汰 (yōushèngliètài) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 优胜劣汰 (yōushèngliètài). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 优胜劣汰

Words with 优

优点yōudiǎn · strong point优秀yōuxiù · outstanding优美yōuměi · graceful优惠yōuhuì · preferential优势yōushì · superiority优异yōuyì · outstanding优越yōuyuè · superior优先yōuxiān · priority

Words with 胜

胜利shènglì · victory名胜古迹míngshènggǔjì · famous sights and historic sites胜负shèngfù · victory or defeat

Words with 劣

恶劣èliè · vile

Words with 汰

淘汰táotài · to eliminate

More words: Ideas & Concepts

一举两得yìjǔliǎngdé · to kill two birds with one stone隐患yǐnhuàn · hidden danger意图yìtú · intention意向yìxiàng · intention优先yōuxiān · priority缘故yuángù · reason原理yuánlǐ · principle源泉yuánquán · source

FAQs

优胜劣汰 (yōushèngliètài) means “survival of the fittest” or “(idiom) survival of the fittest”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yōushèngliètài: yōu with a 1st tone, then shèng with a 4th tone, then liè with a 4th tone, then tài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 优胜劣汰 is written 優勝劣汰. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type youshenglietai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 优胜劣汰 from the suggestions. Typing youshenglietai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
优胜劣汰 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.