高招 (gāo zhāo) — wise move, masterstroke, brilliant idea | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A colloquial noun for a clever or brilliant move, often unexpected. Highlights the speaker's admiration for someone's strategy or idea.

noun

wise movemasterstrokebrilliant idea

Examples

高招。
Tā tí chū de zhè ge gāo zhāo zhēn shì tài gāo míng le.
The masterstroke he proposed is really brilliant.
高招。
Gōng sī néng chéng gōng quán kào tā de nà ge gāo zhāo.
The company's success is all thanks to that masterstroke of his.
高招。
Dà jiā dōu jué de zhè ge gāo zhāo hěn cōng ming.
Everyone thinks this brilliant move is very clever.

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 (high) and 招 (move) suggest a move raised to a brilliant level.

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.

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

扌召招

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

召

召zhào招zhāo

Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Appears in

Abstract Concepts

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