源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

高

gāo
tall; high
  • Pictogram
  • HSK 1
  • TOCFL 1
  • radical 高
  • 10 strokes

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
React Flow
Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

Origin

高 is a pictogram representing a tall building. According to the Shuowen Jiezi, the character depicts the shape of a high observation tower and is glossed as "崇" (lofty). Its graphic components include 冂 (city outskirts), 口 (mouth), and 亠. It is noted to have the same meaning as 倉 and 舍.

The character's earliest attested forms appear in oracle bone, bronze, chu, qin, seal, and regular scripts. It is possibly related to the Proto-Sino-Tibetan root *m/s-gaw (“head”), though some scholars suggest 元 (OC *ŋon, “head”) is a more likely relative to this root due to semantic agreement.

Likely allofams include 喬 (OC *ɡrew, “tall”), and perhaps 浩 (OC *ɡuːʔ, “vast”), though the vowels in the latter do not agree. The character functions as a descriptor for vertical length, distance from the ground, levels above the average, or large quantities.

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「高」字在意義上包含高度、高處、超越一般水準、聲音響亮或數量龐大等含義，與「低」或「矮」相對。在詞源研究上，此字可能源自原始漢藏語的 *m/s-gaw（意為「頭」），並與緬甸語的 ခေါင်း（hkaung:）有同源關係。然而，由於「元」（OC *ŋon）在語義上與「頭」有更顯著的一致性，學者 Schuessler (2007) 認為「元」與此原始漢藏語根的關聯性可能更高。

在同源詞方面，「高」的同源詞可能包括喬（OC *ɡrew），也可能包括浩（OC *ɡuːʔ），儘管後者的母音並不一致。此外，「高」與「京」的字形相似，但「京」並非《康熙字典》中的部首。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • partChinese亠 “couvercle (Kangxi radical)”
  • partChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
  • partChinese冂 “city outskirts; suburbs”

Related: Burmese ခေါင်း

Words built on it: 高中, 提高, 臺, 高速, 搞, 身高, 高度, 高潮, 高速公路, 跳高, 高興

Wiktionary etymology text

Pictogram (象形) – a tall building. Compare 京, which however is not a Kangxi radical.

Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-gaw (“head”). Compare with Burmese ခေါင်း (hkaung:, “head”). However, 元 (OC *ŋon, “head”) instead is more likely to be related to this Proto-Sino-Tibetan root given its significant semantic agreement (Schuessler, 2007).

Likely allofams are 喬 (OC *ɡrew, “tall”), and perhaps 浩 (OC *ɡuːʔ, “vast”) (although the vowels do not agree).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

character
  1. tall; high
  2. of high level; above average
  3. high place
  4. loud
  5. altitude
  6. your

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

高：崇也。象臺觀高之形。从冂、口。與倉、舍同意。凡高之屬皆从高。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 物體上下的長度。 例：身高、樓高十丈　◎
  2. 上下距離遠的，或離地面遠的。與「低」、「矮」相對。 例：山高水深、高樓大廈　◎　◎
  3. 超越一般水準的、等級在上的。 例：高價、高級、高手
  4. 數量大。 例：高齡、年高德劭
  5. 聲音尖銳激昂。 例：高歌、高音、高聲
  6. 高的地方。 例：居高臨下、登高望遠

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 高 was written 字形演變

  1. 高 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 高 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 高 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 高 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  5. 高 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  6. 高 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • Structural decomposition (chaizi) — See upstream
  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 高