高中生 (gāo zhōng shēng) — high-school student (student in senior secondary school, roughly grades 10-12)

Definition

High-school student in the Chinese system — the last three years before university (roughly ages 15-18), ending with the 高考 college entrance exam. Pairs naturally with 初中生 (middle school) and 大学生 (university).

noun
high-school student (student in senior secondary school, roughly grades 10-12)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 高中生,。
    Tā shì yì míng gāo zhōng shēng, míng nián jiù yào cān jiā gāo kǎo le.
    He is a high-school student and will take the college entrance exam next year.
  • 高中生。
    Zhè xiē gāo zhōng shēng měi tiān yào shàng bā jié kè.
    These high-school students have to take eight classes every day.
  • 高中生,。
    gāo zhōng shēng De zuò yè hěn duō, tā men jīng cháng áo yè.
    High-school students have a lot of homework; they often stay up late.

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.

高中senior middle school
高gāohigh/senior中zhōngmiddle school
偏正Modifier + head
生shēngstudent

高中 'senior middle school' and 生 'student' mean a student in senior secondary school.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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