材

material / timber / ability / aptitude / a capable individual / coffin (old)

ability / talent / sb of a certain type / a capable individual / then and only then / just now / (before an expression of quantity) only

(bound form) tree / (bound form) wood / unresponsive; numb; wooden

(variant of 才[cai2]) just now / (before an expression of quantity) only

raw materials / unprocessed materials

raw and semifinished materials

variant of 人才[ren2 cai2]

principal or main material (engineering)

(of a person) short in stature

worthless / good-for-nothing

employ one's talent to the fullest / everyone gives of their best / also written 人盡其才|人尽其才

lit. not to shed a tear until one sees the coffin (idiom) / fig. refuse to be convinced until one is faced with grim reality

untalented / I / me (humble) / also written 不才[bu4 cai2]

reference material / source documents