优 (yōu): excellent, superior
优 (yōu) is a Chinese character meaning “excellent.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 尤 (phonetic). It ranks #774 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 优 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- excellent
- superior
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 优 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 优
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 优秀adjective | yōu xiù | outstanding | 4 |
| 优势noun | yōu shì | superiority | 5 |
| 优先verb | yōu xiān | to have priority | 6 |
| 优点noun | yōu diǎn | merit | 4 |
| 优美adjective | yōu měi | graceful | 5 |
| 优惠adjective | yōu huì | privilege | 5 |
| 优良adjective | yōu liáng | fine | 5 |
| 优异adjective | yōu yì | exceptional | 6 |
| 优质adjective | yōu zhì | excellent quality | 5 |
| 优化verb | yōu huà | to optimize | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 优雅adjective | yōu yǎ | grace |
| 优惠券noun | yōu huì quàn | coupon |
| 优越adjective | yōu yuè | superior |
| 优等生 | yōu děng shēng | top student |
| 优待verb | yōu dài | preferential treatment |
| 优柔寡断phrase | yōu róu guǎ duàn | indecisive |
| 优先级 | yōu xiān jí | (computing) priority level |
| 优胜adjective | yōu shèng | (of a contestant) winning |
| 优等adjective | yōu děng | first-rate |
| 优厚adjective | yōu hòu | generous, liberal (pay, compensation) |
| 葛优 | gě yōu | Ge You (1957-), Chinese actor |
| 全优 | quán yōu | overall excellence |
| 优胜劣汰phrase | yōu shèng liè tài | (idiom) survival of the fittest |
| 养尊处优phrase | yǎng zūn chǔ yōu | to live like a prince (idiom) |
| 优缺点noun | yōu quē diǎn | advantages and disadvantages |
优 appears in 84 compound words: 64 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 18 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 优 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
to excel both ethically and academically; to be an exemplar of virtue and scholarship
the superior win and remain and the inferior is eliminated; survival of the fittest
Example Sentences
他优品很好，在村里很受尊敬。
tā yōu pǐn hěn hǎo , zài cūn lǐ hěn shòu zūn jìng .
He is of excellent character and is highly respected in the village.
电竞女孩上映—政府“首部剧情电影计划”优胜电影 明晚本地首映
diàn jìng nǚ hái shàng yìng — zhèng fǔ shǒu bù jù qíng diàn yǐng jì huá yōu shèng diàn yǐng míng wǎn běn dì shǒu yìng
E-sports Girls Release - The Government's "First Feature Film Program" winning film will premiere locally tomorrow night
...个月,Apple Music 新订阅用户优惠倒计时 10 天
. . . gè yuè , A p p l e M u s i c xīn dìng yuè yòng hù yōu huì dǎo jì shí 1 0 tiān
... month, 10 days countdown to the offer for new subscribers of Apple Music
民众党疑122条款恐使我失出口优势 卓荣泰:台美谈妥ART就是最好方案
mín zhòng dǎng yí 1 2 2 tiáo kuǎn kǒng shǐ wǒ shī chū kǒu yōu shì zhuó róng tài : tái měi tán tuǒ A R T jiù shì zuì hǎo fāng àn
The People's Party suspects that Clause 122 may cause me to lose my export advantage Zhuo Rongtai: Taiwan and the United States negotiating ART is the best solution
摩通:保荐人新规无碍优质企上市
mó tōng : bǎo jiàn rén xīn guī wú ài yōu zhì qǐ shàng shì
Morgan Stanley: The new sponsor regulations do not hinder the listing of high-quality enterprises
麦当劳全新人气着数套餐优惠!脆辣鸡腿饱餐减$10 麦乐鸡/麦炸鸡...
mài dāng láo quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān yōu huì ! cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo cān jiǎn 1 0 mài lè jī mài zhà jī . . .
McDonald's new popular set meal discount! Crispy and spicy chicken thighs $10 off McNuggets / McNuggets / McNuggets Fried Chicken...
可以给我优惠券吗？
Kěyǐ gěi wǒ yōuhuìquàn ma?
May I have coupon tickets?
他请求她给予优待。
Tā qǐngqiú tā jǐyǔ yōudài.
He asked her to give him preferential treatment.
爱迪生不是个优秀的学生。
àidíshēng bù shì ge yōuxiù de xuésheng.
Edison was not a bright student.
用优质材料做的家具卖得很好。
Yòng yōuzhì cáiliào zuò de jiājù mài de hěn hǎo.
Furniture made of good materials sells well.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 亻 (person) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 优 (yōu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 优 and 扰?
How many strokes does 优 have?
What is the radical of 优?
What are the components of 优?
What are common words containing 优?
What characters sound the same as 优 (yōu)?
Is 优 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 优 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.