Mnemonic comic for 才

Translation

cái = c + ai2: ability / talent / sb of a certain type / a capable individual / then and only then / just now / (before an expression of quantity) only

Mnemonic

A mnemonic is a short, deliberately ridiculous scene, built to be hard to forget. Who appears in it and where it takes place are how the pronunciation is stored; the objects in it stand for the parts the character is written with. That is the Marilyn Method, and the comic below is the same scene, drawn.

The King of Chu (c) has been bitten by an X-ray tube and has gained the special ability (才) of X-ray vision. In the airplane’s kitchen (ai2), he holds a banana (丿) in each hand; through his x-ray vision ability, he is able to see that in one of them there’s a crowbar (亅) hidden, in the other one a flute (一).

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All translations for 才

才
cái = c + ai2
ability / talent / sb of a certain type / a capable individual / then and only then / just now / (before an expression of quantity) only
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cái = c + ai2
(variant of 才[cai2]) just now / (before an expression of quantity) only
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How to pronounce 才

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= c initial

C is for the King of Chu.

By Matthias • updated 3 days ago
+ ai2 final

In the airplane’s kitchen.

By Matthias • updated 3 days ago

才 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
一
yī = y + Ø1
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
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亅
jué = ju + e2
"vertical stroke with hook" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 6) / see also 豎鉤|竖钩[shu4 gou1]
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丿
piě = pi + e3
radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 4) / see 撇[pie3]
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Characters with 才 as component

tuán = tu + an2
round / lump / ball / to roll into a ball / to gather / regiment / group / society / classifier for a lump or a soft mass: wad (of paper), ball (of wool), cloud (of smoke)
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tuán = tu + an2
dumpling
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材
cái = c + ai2
material / timber / ability / aptitude / a capable individual / coffin (old)
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Words with 才

show 98 more
just now / a moment ago
just now (variant of 剛才|刚才[gang1 cai2])
talent / gift / genius / talented / gifted
Sentences with 才
这
zhè
才
cái
像
xiàng
话
huà

Want to remember 才 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

才
cái

2 translations

Prompt snippets

The X-ray goggles are chunky retro-futuristic goggles with a matte black rubber frame, two thick round lenses glowing a bright translucent green, small silver rivets around each lens, and a wide black elastic strap.

AI Images