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高调 (gāo diào) — (noun) high-sounding talk, bombast; (adjective) high-profile, ostentatious

Definition

高调 means 'high-profile / showy' (adjective) or 'bombastic talk' (noun) — it implies drawing public attention on purpose. Pairs naturally with 低调 as its opposite; 阔绰 focuses more on spending money lavishly.

noun
high-sounding talkbombast
adjective
high-profileostentatious

Examples

  • 高调，。
    Tā zǒng ài chàng gāo diào, què cóng bú duì xiàn.
    He always likes to talk big but never delivers.
  • ，高调。
    Zhè wèi qǐ yè jiā yí xiàng hěn dī diào, zuì jìn què biàn de hěn gāo diào.
    This entrepreneur has always been low-key, but recently he's become very high-profile.
  • 高调。
    gāo diào De zuò fēng wèi bì néng yíng dé zhēn zhèng de zūn zhòng.
    A high-profile style may not win genuine respect.

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gāohigh
调tiáotone; tune

高 means high and 调 means tone or tune, so together they suggest a high-sounding tone, used for bombast or a high-profile stance.

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 →

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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