秀 means “excel, outstanding”

しゅう · shuu

Also: excellence, beauty, surpass

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ひいでる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

シュウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 7 strokes

The story

Ripe grain (禾) above 乃, a stalk curving out: picture the one ear of rice that rises above the rest. 秀 is excellence: 優秀 is outstanding, a 秀才 is a gifted student, and it shines in names like 豊臣秀吉, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Used in 優秀 (yuushuu, excellent), 秀才 (shuusai, gifted person), and 秀でる (hiideru, to excel)

More from Learning & Reason

• 慮 consideration
• 俊 talented
• 敏 quick
• 顧 look back
• 哲 philosophy
• 較 compare
• 塾 cram school
• 憶 memory
• 鑑 appraise
• 勘 intuition
• 寮 dormitory
• 儒 Confucian

Learn 秀 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.