拔高 (bá gāo) — to raise high (literally or figuratively); to deliberately elevate (status, image, or importance), often beyond what is deserved; to inflate or exaggerate

Definition

Literally 'to pull high', 拔高 in practice means to deliberately inflate or exaggerate someone's status, image, or importance — often beyond what is deserved. The opposite is 贬低 ('to belittle').

verb
to raise high (literally or figuratively)to deliberately elevate (status, image, or importance)often beyond what is deservedto inflate or exaggerate

Examples

  • 拔高。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng bǎ zhǔ jué bá gāo dé yǒu xiē shī zhēn.
    This article raises the protagonist a bit too unrealistically.
  • 拔高。
    Tā zǒng xiǎng tōng guò guān xì bá gāo zì jǐ de dì wèi.
    He always tries to elevate his own status through connections.
  • ，拔高。
    Píng jià lì shǐ rén wù shí, bú yào kè yì bá gāo huò biǎn dī.
    When evaluating historical figures, don't deliberately inflate or belittle them.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

拔báraise
高gāohigh

拔 means to pull or raise, and 高 means high; together they describe raising something to a high level.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
犮
犮bá拔bá
Same sound today

In 拔, the left side 扌 is a hand and the right side 犮 gives the sound; the shape pictures a hand pulling.

Open 拔 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Open 高 →

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