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高人一等 (gāo rén yī děng) — a cut above others; superior; elite

Definition

A fixed idiom meaning 'a cut above others,' usually describing ability or status. Note the negative connotation: it often implies arrogance or looking down on people.

idiom
a cut above otherssuperiorelite

Examples

  • 高人一等。
    Tā zài zhuān yè fāng miàn què shí gāo rén yī děng.
    He is truly a cut above others in his professional field.
  • 高人一等，。
    Tā zǒng shì jué de zì jǐ gāo rén yī děng, bú yuàn yì hé bié rén hé zuò.
    She always considers herself superior and is unwilling to cooperate with others.
  • 高人一等，。
    Zhè ge tuán duì de jì shù shuǐ píng gāo rén yī děng, yíng dé le bǐ sài.
    This team's technical level is a cut above others, and they won the competition.

Origin

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 shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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