CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

出类拔萃 (chū lèi bá cuì)

outstanding among others

Plain Answer

Source: Classical praise tradition. Treated here as classical story; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 出类拔萃 means outstanding among others: Used to praise someone or something as clearly superior within a group, field, or set of peers.

Practice this meaningRead the story
Label
positive / positive written and spoken Chinese
Best objects
peer comparison, company strength, growth path
Do not use when
Do not use 出类拔萃 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 青出于蓝 or the contrast points toward 马马虎虎, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 出类拔萃 when the peer comparison sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 出类拔萃 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

peer comparison在这批申请者中，她的研究经历出类拔萃。Zài zhè pī shēnqǐngzhě zhōng, tā de yánjiū jīnglì chūlèibácuì.Among these applicants, her research experience is outstanding.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 青出于蓝 before practicing 出类拔萃 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 青出于蓝, 一鸣惊人, 百折不挠

Read This First

出类拔萃 is introduced here through a modern usage entry rather than a fixed ancient anecdote; the source label is Classical praise tradition, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

出类拔萃 means outstanding among others. The important first reading is Used to praise someone or something as clearly superior within a group, field, or set of peers. This is a positive phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 出类拔萃 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as peer comparison, company strength, growth path; then compare 青出于蓝 and 一鸣惊人 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 出类拔萃 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: peer comparison plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used to praise someone or something as clearly superior within a group, field, or set of peers.

Literal meaning

come out from the group and rise above the cluster

  • 出 / come out
  • 类 / class or group
  • 拔 / rise above
  • 萃 / cluster or gathering

English equivalents

  • stand out from the crowd exact

    Natural for people and work.

  • outstanding near

    Best for concise praise.

  • clearly better than peers plain

    Useful when the comparison group must stay visible.

How To Use It

Use 出类拔萃 when the reader can see why outstanding among others is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it when the comparison group is visible or implied.
  • It can praise people, teams, works, abilities, services, or achievements.
  • The phrase is stronger than good and should be supported by evidence in serious writing.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 出类拔萃 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 青出于蓝 or the contrast points toward 马马虎虎, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it when there is no group or standard of comparison.
  • Do not confuse it with 青出于蓝, which specifically compares a successor with a source or teacher.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 出类拔萃.

    The sentence drops in 出类拔萃 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for outstanding among others appears before or after the phrase.

    出类拔萃 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare qing chu yu lan

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 出类拔萃 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 出类拔萃, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 马马虎虎 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    出类拔萃 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare ma ma hu hu

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 出类拔萃 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 出类拔萃 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a clear praise judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 一鸣惊人 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    出类拔萃 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare yi ming jing ren

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 出类拔萃 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 东施效颦, use that contrast instead.

    出类拔萃 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare dong shi xiao pin

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 出类拔萃 with nearby learner choices

    出类拔萃 is often studied beside 青出于蓝 and 一鸣惊人 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释出类拔萃，再比较青出于蓝和一鸣惊人，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    qing chu yu lanyi ming jing ren

  2. 出类拔萃 with contrast checks

    出类拔萃 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 百折不挠 and 马马虎虎; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用出类拔萃造句，再换成百折不挠，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    bai zhe bu naoma ma hu huqing chu yu lan

  3. 出类拔萃 in example-building drills

    出类拔萃 should be practiced with 青出于蓝 and 百折不挠 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用出类拔萃写一个有证据的句子，再换成青出于蓝或百折不挠说明判断为什么改变。

    qing chu yu lanbai zhe bu naoyi ming jing ren

  4. 出类拔萃 in story and source review

    出类拔萃 links best with 一鸣惊人 and 马马虎虎 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背出类拔萃的故事，还要比较一鸣惊人，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    yi ming jing renma ma hu huqing chu yu lan

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

Use 出类拔萃 when the comparison group is real. Among applicants, classmates, competitors, essays, or performances, one option clearly rises above the rest. If the sentence has no group, the praise may sound inflated or unsupported.

Outstanding is concise and natural, but it can hide the group comparison. Stand out from the crowd keeps the image closer to the Chinese. Clearly better than peers is useful when the sentence is analytical and needs to say what standard is being used.

Do not confuse 出类拔萃 with 青出于蓝. 青出于蓝 compares a learner or successor with a source, teacher, or earlier generation. 出类拔萃 compares someone with a peer group. A student can be both, but the two phrases answer different comparison questions.

A strong example should name the field of excellence. Research experience, explanation ability, service quality, musical control, or technical judgment can all support the phrase. Without a concrete excellence signal, 出类拔萃 becomes generic praise and loses credibility.

Before using 出类拔萃, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 出类拔萃 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 出类拔萃 with 青出于蓝 and 马马虎虎 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 出类拔萃, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

peer comparison is the first test zone for 出类拔萃, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: peer comparison, company strength, growth path, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction. Then choose among stand out from the crowd, outstanding, clearly better than peers as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with qing-chu-yu-lan and yi-ming-jing-ren; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 出类拔萃 is translated as stand out from the crowd, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep clear praise and the effort use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it when there is no group or standard of comparison.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

peer comparison

在这批申请者中，她的研究经历出类拔萃。

Zài zhè pī shēnqǐngzhě zhōng, tā de yánjiū jīnglì chūlèibácuì.

Among these applicants, her research experience is outstanding.

company strength

这家公司真正出类拔萃的地方，是把复杂问题讲得很清楚。

Zhè jiā gōngsī zhēnzhèng chūlèibácuì de dìfang, shì bǎ fùzá wèntí jiǎng de hěn qīngchu.

What truly makes this company stand out is its ability to explain complex problems clearly.

growth path

他不是一开始就出类拔萃，而是多年训练之后才慢慢领先。

Tā bùshì yī kāishǐ jiù chūlèibácuì, ér shì duōnián xùnliàn zhīhòu cái mànmàn lǐngxiān.

He was not outstanding from the beginning; he gradually moved ahead after years of training.

usage boundary

只有原因和语气都清楚时，这句话才适合用出类拔萃。

zhi you yuan yin he yu qi dou qing chu shi zhe ju hua cai shi he yong chu lei ba cui

Only use 出类拔萃 when the cause and tone are both clear, not just because the topic feels nearby.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说出类拔萃。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo chu lei ba cui

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 出类拔萃 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写出类拔萃。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie chu lei ba cui

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 出类拔萃 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以出类拔萃读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi chu lei ba cui du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 出类拔萃 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用出类拔萃造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong chu lei ba cui zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 出类拔萃.

Story and Cultural Context

出类拔萃 is a comparison phrase before it is a compliment. The image is of someone or something coming out from a class and rising above a gathered group. That means the phrase needs a field, cohort, or standard in the background. Modern use is broad: students, candidates, companies, essays, performances, products, and services can all be 出类拔萃 if they are clearly better than comparable peers. English speakers should keep the peer comparison visible so the phrase does not become empty praise. The phrase needs a crowd. It does not merely say someone is good; it says the person or work rises above comparable others. That makes the comparison group part of the meaning. In modern use, 出类拔萃 can describe a candidate, student, team, service, essay, performance, or product, but it should not be empty decoration. The page should help learners ask: compared with whom, in what field, and by what evidence does this one stand out? For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 出类拔萃 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The modern usage route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 出类拔萃 through peer comparison, company strength, growth path, usage boundary, misuse boundary; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 出类拔萃 can point toward stand out from the crowd, outstanding, clearly better than peers, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 出类拔萃 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 青出于蓝 and 一鸣惊人 and with 马马虎虎 and 东施效颦 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 出类拔萃 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: Real praise becomes stronger when the comparison group is clear.

Open the dedicated story page

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

出类拔萃 should first be read as a decision about outstanding among others, not as a collectible story label. The classical story helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a positive judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 出类拔萃 deliberately cover peer comparison, company strength, growth path, usage boundary, misuse boundary because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 出类拔萃, compare it with 青出于蓝 and 一鸣惊人 and, when possible, with 马马虎虎 and 东施效颦. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

出类拔萃 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

出类拔萃 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first