高 (gāo): high, tall, above average
高 (gāo) is a Chinese character meaning “high.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亠 (structural), 口 (structural) and 冋 (structural). It ranks #134 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 高 a tall palace. Its radical form 高 (tall) appears in many related characters.
Definitions
- high
- tall
- above average
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA tall palace
Decomposition: ⿳亠口冋 (layout: top-middle-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 高 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 高
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高兴adjective | gāo xìng | happy | 1 |
| 高中noun | gāo zhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学) | 2 |
| 高级adjective | gāo jí | high level | 5 |
| 提高verb | tí gāo | to raise | 3 |
| 高度noun/adjective | gāo dù | height | 5 |
| 高手noun | gāo shǒu | expert | 6 |
| 高速adjective | gāo sù | high speed | 4 |
| 高铁noun | gāo tiě | high speed rail | 3 |
| 高尚adjective | gāo shàng | noble | 6 |
| 高层noun/adjective | gāo céng | high-rise | 6 |
| 身高noun | shēn gāo | (a person's) height | 3 |
| 高档adjective | gāo dàng | superior quality | 5 |
| 高大adjective | gāo dà | tall | 5 |
| 高峰noun | gāo fēng | peak | 6 |
| 高于verb | gāo yú | greater than | 4 |
| 高超adjective | gāo chāo | excellent | 6 |
| 高温noun | gāo wēn | high temperature | 4 |
| 高效adjective | gāo xiào | efficient | 5 |
| 高等adjective | gāo děng | high-level | 6 |
| 高原noun | gāo yuán | plateau | 6 |
| 高价noun | gāo jià | high price | 4 |
| 高考noun | gāo kǎo | college entrance exam (especially as abbr. for 普通高等學校招生全國統一考試|普通高等学校招生全国统一考试[Pu3 tong1 Gao1 deng3 Xue2 xiao4 Zhao1 sh... | 4 |
| 跳高verb | tiào gāo | (athletics) high jump | 5 |
| 高科技noun | gāo kē jì | high tech | 5 |
| 高新技术adjective | gāo xīn jì shù | high tech | 6 |
| 高端adjective/noun | gāo duān | high-end | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 最高adjective | zuì gāo | tallest |
| 高尔夫noun | gāo ěr fū | (loanword) golf |
| 高潮noun | gāo cháo | high tide |
| 高跟鞋noun | gāo gēn xié | high-heeled shoes |
| 高贵adjective | gāo guì | grandeur |
| 高尔夫球 | gāo ěr fū qiú | golf |
| 高速公路 | gāo sù gōng lù | expressway |
| 高中生 | gāo zhōng shēng | senior high school student |
| 高明adjective | gāo míng | brilliant |
| 高速路 | gāo sù lù | highway |
| 抬高verb | tái gāo | to raise (price etc) |
| 升高verb | shēng gāo | to raise |
| 崇高adjective | chóng gāo | majestic |
| 高音noun | gāo yīn | high pitch |
| 高空noun | gāo kōng | high altitude |
高 appears in 121 compound words: 84 as the first character, 11 as the last, and 5 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 高 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (75)
(idiom) a person of virtue and prestige; a person of good moral standing and reputation
to stand tall and see far (idiom); taking the long and broad view; acute foresight
to stand tall and see far (idiom); taking the long and broad view; acute foresight
Showing 12 of 75 idioms containing 高.
Example Sentences
这个高字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě gāo zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "高" is related to its radical.
高标准高质量推进雄安新区建设现代化城市丨雄...
gāo biāo zhǔn gāo zhì liàng tuī jìn xióng ān xīn qū jiàn shè xiàn dài huà chéng shì 丨 xióng . . .
Promote the construction of Xiong'an New Area into a modern city with high standards and high quality丨Xiong...
上海乐高乐园度假区首个春节表现亮眼,成亲子家庭出...
shàng hǎi lè gāo lè yuán dù jiǎ qū shǒu gè chūn jié biǎo xiàn liàng yǎn , chéng qīn zǐ jiā tíng chū . . .
Shanghai Legoland Resort performed well in the first Spring Festival, and became a parent-child family...
上海乐高乐园迎开园后首个春节假期,正月初三刷新单...
shàng hǎi lè gāo lè yuán yíng kāi yuán hòu shǒu gè chūn jié jiǎ qī , zhèng yuè chū sān shuā xīn dān . . .
Shanghai Legoland welcomed the first Spring Festival holiday after the opening of the park, and the third day of the first lunar month refreshed the order...
千城百县看中国·护航春运丨河北交通:智慧高速守护假..
qiān chéng bǎi xiàn kàn zhōng guó hù háng chūn yùn 丨 hé běi jiāo tōng : zhì huì gāo sù shǒu hù jiǎ . .
Thousands of cities and counties look at China and escort the Spring Festival丨Hebei Transportation: Smart highway guards the holiday:
日本流感疫情持续高位,七成地区达“警报”级别
rì běn liú gǎn yì qíng chí xù gāo wèi , qī chéng dì qū dá jǐng bào jí bié
The influenza epidemic in Japan continues to be high, with 70% of the regions reaching the "alert" level
我们面前的这幢高楼是什么？
Wǒmen miànqián de zhè zhuàng gāolóu shì shénme?
What is that big building in front of us?
我能预定一下打高尔夫球吗？
Wǒ néng yùdìng yīxià dǎgāo'ěrfūqiú ma?
Can I make a reservation for golf?
你为什么那么高兴？
Nǐ wèishénme nàme gāoxìng?
Why are you so happy?
你知道那座电视塔有多高吗？
Nǐ zhīdào nà zuò diànshìtǎ yǒu duō gāo ma?
Do you know how high the television tower is?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 高 (gāo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 高 and 下?
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What is the radical of 高?
What are the components of 高?
What are common words containing 高?
What characters sound the same as 高 (gāo)?
Is 高 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 高 with real-time feedback
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