At the recently concluded 2014 Inchon Asian Games, Ning Zetao won the gold medal in the Men’s 100m Freestyle Final and set a new Asian Games record. Now he is called “泳坛新秀(yǒngtán xīnxiù)” by the media. Here, “泳坛新秀(yǒngtán xīnxiù)” means a new swimming star.
“秀(xiù)” literarily means beautiful, elegant and pretty. It can also refer to excellent talent like a “新秀(xīnxiù),” which means an up-and-coming youngster or promising young person. The term “歌坛新秀(gētán xīnxiù)” can be used to refer to new, popular singers and “体坛新秀(tǐtán xīnxiù)” refers to new talents in a given sport.
Examples
Lǐ Jiā: Nǐ tīngshuō ɡuò TFBOYS ma?
李 佳：你 听说 过 TFBOYS 吗？
Li Jia: Have you ever heard of TFBOYS?
Zhāng Kě: Dāngránlā! Tāmen kěshì yǎnyìquān de xīnxiù.
张 可： 当然啦 ！ 他们 可是 演艺圈 的 新秀。
Zhanɡ Ke: Of course! They are new, popular stars in show business.
Since “秀” can also be a transliteration of the word “show,” from it a number of new phrases have been derived which are related to networks and TV.
When “秀(xiù)” is used as a noun, it means “performance”, such as “中国达人秀(zhōnɡɡuó dárénxiù) China’s Got Talent,” “脱口秀(tuōkǒuxiù) Talk Show,” “真人秀(zhēnrénxiù) Reality Show,” and so on.
Examples
Lǐ Míng: Nǐ zuì xǐhuan de diànshì jiémù shì shénme?
李 明 ：你 最 喜欢 的 电视 节目 是 什么？
Li Minɡ: What’s your favorite TV show?
Wáng Lì: Àilún xiù, tā shì wǒ zuì xǐhuan de tuōkǒuxiù jiémù. Nǐ ne?
王 丽：艾伦 秀，它 是 我 最 喜欢 的 脱口秀 节目 。你 呢？
Wanɡ Li: Allen Show is my favorite talk show. How about you?
Lǐ Míng: Wǒ xǐhuan kàn zhòngguó dárénxiù.
李 明： 我 喜欢 看 中国 达人秀 。
Li Minɡ: I like China’s Got Talent.
When “秀(xiù)” is used as a verb, it means “to show” or “show off”. Usually, it is used in the following format: “秀(xiù) + something.” For example, “秀恩爱(xiù ēn’ài) show affection in public,” “秀厨艺(xiù chúyì) show one’s cooking skills,” etc.
Examples
Lǐ Míng: John wēibó shàng zǒngshì yǒu hěnduō tā gēn tā nǚpéngyou de zhàopiàn.
李 明： John 微博 上 总是 有 很多 他 跟 他 女朋友 的 照片。
Li Minɡ: There are always many photos of John and his girlfriend on his Weibo page.
Xiǎo Wáng: Tā hěn xǐhuan xiù ēn’ài.
小 王： 他 很 喜欢 秀 恩爱。
Xiao Wanɡ: He enjoys showing affection in public!
Jīnwǎn wǒ gěi nǐmen zuòfàn, xiùyixiù wǒ de chúyì.
今晚 我 给 你们 做饭， 秀一秀 我 的 厨艺 。
I’ll cook tonight to show you my cooking skills.
Zhǔchírén: Māmamen, xiù yí xià nǐmen jiā de xiǎobǎobèi ba!
主持人： 妈妈 们， 秀 一 下 你们 家 的 小宝贝 吧！
Hostess: Mothers, come forward and show off your babies!
Quizzes
1. Tā shì NBA de xīnxiù qiúyuán.
他 是 NBA 的 新秀 球员。
What we can know from this?
A. He likes to show off his basketball skills.
B. It’s the first time for him to play basketball.
C. He is a new, promising basketball player.
2. Tīngshuō nǐ mǎi iPhone 6s le, kuài ___ yí xià nǐ de xīn shǒujī.
听说 你 买 iPhone 6s了，快 ___ 一 下 你 的 新 手机。
A. 秀(xiù)
B. 拿(ná)
C. 给(gěi)