高洁 (gāo jié) — noble and unsullied; pure and lofty

Definition

A literary adjective praising moral or aesthetic purity — 'lofty and unsullied.' Typical of formal writing, not everyday speech.

adjective

noble and unsulliedpure and lofty

高洁。
Tā jù yǒu gāo jié de pǐn gé.
She has a noble and unsullied character.
高洁。
Tā de xíng wéi tǐ xiàn le gāo jié de jīng shén.
His behavior embodies a noble and unsullied spirit.
高洁。
Zhè wèi zuò jiā yǐ gāo jié de wén fēng wén míng.
This writer is famous for his lofty and unsullied style.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

高 and 洁 are lofty and pure, together describing noble purity.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 潔; 洁 is its simplified writing.

氵絜潔

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

絜

絜jié潔jié

Same sound today

The traditional form 潔 pairs 氵, a water part, with 絜, which gives the sound; the simplified 洁 is a later abbreviation.