高

gāo

Pinyin
gāo
Pinyin (Plain)
gao
Tone
1
Strokes
10
Radical
高
Readings
gāogaoTone: 1surname GaoOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 446 821 Q 491 776 531 760 Q 547 759 555 772 Q 559 785 556 803 Q 540 845 479 856 Q 439 865 429 860 Q 422 859 426 846 Q 429 834 446 821 Z", "M 220 681 Q 201 680 215 663 Q 228 650 246 644 Q 265 640 282 643 Q 465 694 799 693 Q 818 693 823 702 Q 827 712 812 726 Q 763 765 726 756 Q 611 732 220 681 Z", "M 374 605 Q 367 608 360 608 Q 348 612 345 606 Q 338 600 347 584 Q 369 545 384 480 Q 388 461 400 447 Q 418 425 423 441 Q 424 448 426 456 L 424 487 Q 415 562 414 580 C 413 592 402 595 374 605 Z", "M 615 517 Q 636 571 660 585 Q 675 601 662 618 Q 593 672 548 645 Q 469 618 374 605 C 344 601 385 572 414 580 Q 420 583 552 608 Q 568 612 575 605 Q 582 599 580 585 Q 574 549 567 518 C 561 489 604 489 615 517 Z", "M 426 456 Q 432 456 440 457 Q 500 470 629 484 Q 639 485 640 493 Q 640 500 615 517 C 602 526 596 525 567 518 Q 488 499 424 487 C 395 481 396 455 426 456 Z", "M 247 356 Q 246 357 242 359 Q 209 372 191 371 Q 176 367 183 353 Q 231 266 193 120 Q 166 68 208 17 Q 217 4 227 10 Q 258 35 260 132 Q 260 283 263 318 C 265 347 265 347 247 356 Z", "M 263 318 Q 389 358 757 377 Q 773 377 778 369 Q 785 365 788 329 Q 801 182 787 97 Q 778 55 743 59 Q 704 65 669 68 Q 653 72 653 65 Q 653 58 666 45 Q 748 -16 770 -48 Q 780 -63 789 -60 Q 802 -59 815 -34 Q 845 21 858 186 Q 861 336 876 361 Q 895 385 879 390 Q 863 408 821 425 Q 796 441 768 430 Q 735 421 653 414 Q 499 401 395 381 Q 319 365 247 356 C 217 352 234 310 263 318 Z", "M 394 272 Q 384 276 357 280 Q 345 283 343 277 Q 337 271 345 257 Q 370 212 387 139 Q 391 117 404 102 Q 422 83 426 97 Q 429 107 428 122 L 424 155 Q 412 219 410 242 C 407 268 407 268 394 272 Z", "M 621 168 Q 645 226 671 245 Q 687 261 674 278 Q 658 291 611 314 Q 595 321 575 314 Q 502 287 394 272 C 364 268 381 237 410 242 Q 447 249 561 268 Q 577 272 584 265 Q 594 255 577 181 C 570 152 609 140 621 168 Z", "M 428 122 Q 435 121 447 122 Q 504 132 627 138 Q 637 139 639 147 Q 639 154 621 168 C 603 183 603 183 577 181 Q 570 181 563 179 Q 487 163 424 155 C 394 151 398 124 428 122 Z"]
Meaning
“高” most commonly means “tall” or “high” in terms of physical height, level, or degree (e.g., a tall building, a high price, high temperature). It can also describe something as “advanced,” “of high rank,” or “of high quality,” and appears in words about praise or respect (e.g., “high” skill, “high” ideals).
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 7:17:57 PM

Usage

The character 高 (gāo) most commonly means “tall” or “high” and appears early in beginner textbooks. Learners first see it in basic descriptions of height and level: 个子高 “tall (in stature),” 楼很高 “the building is high,” or 声音很高 “the sound is high (pitch).” It’s also used figuratively for degree or level, as in 温度很高 “the temperature is high,” 价钱太高 “the price is too high,” or 水平很高 “(someone’s) level/skill is high.” This sense of “high” or “elevated” extends to abstract things like 高科技 “high technology” and 高级 “advanced; high-level.” Learners also meet 高 frequently in names and set phrases. It’s a common Chinese surname (高先生 “Mr. Gao”) and appears in many place and institution names, especially 高中 “senior high school” and 高速公路 “expressway; highway” (literally “high-speed road”). In everyday speech it often carries a positive connotation of “advanced” or “noble,” as in 高尚 “noble (character),” or simply marks something as “upper” or “higher” compared to a lower level.

Handwriting Notes

高 is a tall, fairly symmetrical character with a clear “tower” structure: a wide roof on top, a central boxed area, and a smaller element at the bottom. In neat handwriting it looks compact and vertical, with the top “roof” (like a stretched 冂 with a small horizontal line inside) slightly wider than the parts below, and the middle enclosure forming a clear box that frames the inner strokes. The bottom component is narrower and helps give the character a sense of height, which matches its meaning “tall, high.” In actual handwriting, people often compress 高 to write faster: the top roof may be flatter or slightly curved, the box in the middle can become more rectangular or somewhat open on one side, and the inner strokes may be simplified or merged so they don’t look exactly like printed typeface forms. Some writers also reduce the overall width, making it look thinner, while others round off corners, especially when writing quickly with a pen or pencil. Despite these variations, readers recognize 高 by its stacked, three-part layout (roof–box–base) and its overall tall, centered symmetry. AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such handwritten variants so they can still correctly identify 高 even when it’s written quickly, sloppily, or in different personal styles.

Description

高 is a common Chinese character meaning “tall,” “high,” or “above average” in height, level, or degree. It is used in words like 高兴 (gāoxìng, “happy”) and 高中 (gāozhōng, “senior high school”). The standard Mandarin pronunciation is gāo (first tone).

Common Words

  • 高兴gāo xìnghappy; glad
  • 高级gāo jíhigh-level; advanced; senior
  • 高兴地gāo xìng dehappily; with pleasure
  • 高山gāo shānhigh mountain
  • 提高tí gāoto raise; to improve; to increase
  • 高度gāo dùheight; altitude; high degree
  • 高铁gāo tiěhigh-speed rail
  • 高考gāo kǎoNational College Entrance Examination (in China)
  • 高中gāo zhōngsenior high school
  • 高楼gāo lóuhigh-rise building; tall building
  • 高温gāo wēnhigh temperature
  • 高血压gāo xuè yāhigh blood pressure; hypertension
  • 高科技gāo kē jìhigh technology; hi‑tech
  • 高档gāo dànghigh-grade; high-class; upscale
  • 高雅gāo yǎelegant; refined; tasteful
  • 高明gāo míngbrilliant; wise; clever
  • 高空gāo kōnghigh altitude; high in the air
  • 高价gāo jiàhigh price
  • 高效gāo xiàohighly efficient; efficient
  • 高峰gāo fēngpeak; summit; peak period (e.g., traffic)
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