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星级 (xīng jí) — (noun) star rating; (adjective) star-rated, top-class

Definition

星级 literally means 'star-level' and refers to a star rating (e.g. 五星级 'five-star'). As an adjective it's close to 顶级 'top-notch', but 星级 specifically rates by stars (hotels, products, reviews), while 顶级 means the very best in its class.

noun
star rating
adjective
star-ratedtop-class

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè jiā jiǔ diàn shì wǔ xīng jí de.
    This hotel is five-star.
  • 星级。
    Tā men tí gōng xīng jí fú wù.
    They provide top-class service.
  • 星级，。
    Zhè ge wǎng zhàn de xīng jí hěn gāo, zhí dé xìn lài.
    This website's star rating is high; it's trustworthy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

星xīngstar
级jígrade

星 refers to stars, and 级 is a grade, so the word means a star-based rating.

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.

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Open 星 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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