特别
tèbié
The Chinese word that means one head above the row
The picture One head rising above a row of equals, with a finger pointing straight at it. 特别 sticks out of the row; 非常 lifts the whole row high.
Where the picture shows up in 特别
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today out of ordinary days
今天特别忙，中午没吃饭。
jīn tiān tè bié máng, zhōng wǔ méi chī fàn
Today was unusually busy — I skipped lunch.
A wall calendar where only today's square has a stack of files spilling out of it
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this shop out of many
我特别喜欢这家店的面。
wǒ tè bié xǐ huan zhè jiā diàn de miàn
I especially like the noodles at this shop.
A street of shop signs in a row with one of them jutting forward
Before feeling verbs like 喜欢 it picks out the one you mean above the rest.
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the needle out of all fears
这个孩子特别怕打针。
zhè ge hái zi tè bié pà dǎ zhēn
This child is unusually afraid of injections.
The nurse lifting a syringe and the child alone darting behind the mother's back
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this road out of all roads
冬天这条路特别滑，请小心。
dōng tiān zhè tiáo lù tè bié huá, qǐng xiǎo xīn
In winter this road gets unusually slippery — please be careful.
Several snowy lanes where only one of them glitters with ice
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the customers out of all people
他对客人特别客气。
tā duì kè rén tè bié kè qi
He is unusually polite to customers.
A man who only raises a hand to colleagues bending from the waist for a customer
Paired with 对 it picks out who alone is treated that way.
All of it in one picture
特别 is one head rising out of a row. Let today rise out of the ordinary days and you get unusually busy; let one shop rise out of the street and its noodles become the ones you love. Out of everything a child fears, the needle rises; out of all the roads, this one; out of all the people, the customers get the careful manner. The word always rests on a row of others first.