提高 (tí gāo) — to raise, to increase, to improve | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used for raising the level, quality, or ability of something abstract (skill, awareness, efficiency). More concrete numbers and amounts use 增加 or 增长.

verb

to raiseto increaseto improve

Examples

提高。
Duō liàn xí kě yǐ tí gāo nǐ de kǒu yǔ.
More practice can improve your spoken Chinese.
提高。
Tā de kǎo shì fēn shù tí gāo le hěn duō.
His test score increased a lot.
提高。
Měi tiān dú shū kě yǐ tí gāo nǐ de zhī shi.
Reading every day can increase your knowledge.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

The part 提 means lift, and 高 means high, so together they express raising something to a higher 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.

扌是提

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

是

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

提 shows 扌 (hand) beside 是, which gives the pronunciation.

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Appears in

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