HSK 4 · Adjectives

优秀 yōuxiù “outstanding” in Chinese

Traditional 優秀

What 优秀 means

  1. outstanding
  2. excellent

How to say 优秀

  • 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秀xiù4th tone, falling

优秀 in a sentence

  1. 他是一个优秀的作家。

    Tā shì yí ge yōuxiù de zuòjiā.

    He’s an excellent author.

    Sentence #1188439 from Tatoeba

  2. 她丈夫是个优秀的厨师。

    Tā zhàngfu shì ge yōuxiù de chúshī.

    Her husband is an excellent cook.

    Sentence #848699 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 他是我们队上最优秀的选手。

    Tā shì wǒmen duì shàng zuì yōuxiù de xuǎnshǒu.

    He’s the best player in our team.

    Sentence #431626 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 优秀 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 秀 (xiù) with each of its parts in a different colour
秀xiùrefined; elegant; graceful; beautiful
  • 禾grain · héMeaning part
  • 乃then · nǎi

How to write 优秀

优 6 strokes · 秀 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 优秀

Words with 优

优点yōudiǎn · strong point优美yōuměi · graceful优惠yōuhuì · preferential优势yōushì · superiority优异yōuyì · outstanding优越yōuyuè · superior优先yōuxiān · priority优胜劣汰yōushèngliètài · survival of the fittest

More words: Adjectives

严格yángé · strict严重yánzhòng · grave勇敢yǒnggǎn · brave优点yōudiǎn · strong point幽默yōumò · humour有趣yǒuqù · interesting友好yǒuhǎo · friendly脏zāng · dirty

FAQs

优秀 (yōuxiù) means “outstanding” or “excellent”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yōuxiù: yōu with a 1st tone, then xiù 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, 优秀 is written 優秀. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type youxiu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 优秀 from the suggestions. Typing youxiu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
优秀 is an HSK 4 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 from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.