秀

Pictophonetic/associative compound:

禾 (벼 화, grain) — semantic element, indicating plants/crops.

乃 (내/아이 내, derived from 引) — phonetic element; originally represented sprouting growth.

Earliest form showed a rice plant with grain sprouting, symbolizing “to flourish, to excel.”

優秀 (우수) — excellent, superior

秀才 (수재) — scholar; talented person

美秀 (미수) — beautiful and elegant

才秀 (재수) — gifted, talented

Modern usage in Chinese: besides “outstanding,” also used to phonetically transcribe show (e.g., 脫口秀 “talk show,” 時裝秀 “fashion show”), so its traditional meaning is increasingly overshadowed.

Simplified/Traditional: same graph 秀, but stroke order of the 5th stroke differs slightly in some traditions.