高 (gāo) is a Chinese character meaning “tall”. It is written from 亠 (lid) and 口 (mouth) and 冋 (an open frame (冂) with a mouth (口) held inside it), and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “tall; high”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亠 + 口 + 冋
Top–middle–bottom structure
- 亠 lid · tóu unknown
- 口 mouth · kǒu unknown
- 冋 an open frame (冂) with a mouth (口) held inside it unknown
Structure from: IDS ⿳亠口冋 (Unicode 表意文字描述序列)，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数 2+3+5=10 核验一致。仅描述现代字形，各部件的历史来源未确认
Memory aid
A pointed roof (亠) on top, a small window (口) below it, and a big frame with another opening inside (冋) at the base. Stack all three and you get a tall tower — high.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 高兴gāo xìnghappy; glad高 = gāo
- 高山gāo shānhigh mountain高 = gāo
- 引吭高歌yǐn háng gāo gēto sing loudly at the top of one's voice高 = gāo
- 高亢gāo kàngloud and sonorous; high-pitched高 = gāo
- 高尚gāo shàngnoble; lofty; high-minded高 = gāo
- 崇高chóng gāolofty; sublime高 = gāo
- 提高tí gāoto raise; to improve高 = gāo
- 高峰gāo fēnghigh peak; peak (of a trend or activity)高 = gāo
Go deeper
All readings
tall; high
tall; high; above the usual level; loud (of sound)
从下到上距离大，与「低」「矮」相对；也指在一般标准或平均程度之上。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 高兴gāo xìnghappy; glad高 = gāo
- 高山gāo shānhigh mountain高 = gāo
- 引吭高歌yǐn háng gāo gēto sing loudly at the top of one's voice高 = gāo
- 高亢gāo kàngloud and sonorous; high-pitched高 = gāo
- 高尚gāo shàngnoble; lofty; high-minded高 = gāo
- 崇高chóng gāolofty; sublime高 = gāo
- 提高tí gāoto raise; to improve高 = gāo
- 高峰gāo fēnghigh peak; peak (of a trend or activity)高 = gāo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 高 mean?
高 (gāo) means tall; high; above the usual level; loud (of sound).
How do you pronounce 高?
It is pronounced gāo.
What parts is 高 made of?
亠 (lid) and 口 (mouth) and 冋 (an open frame (冂) with a mouth (口) held inside it). The recorded source is: IDS ⿳亠口冋 (Unicode 表意文字描述序列)，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数 2+3+5=10 核验一致。仅描述现代字形，各部件的历史来源未确认. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 高 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 高?
高. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 高?
Common ones are 高兴 and 高山. The reading of 高 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.