高额 (gāo é) — high amount; large sum (of money)

Definition

Used almost exclusively for money or financial amounts — high sum, large figure. Weaker than 巨额 (enormous, often in formal/financial news).

adjective

high amountlarge sum (of money)

高额。
Gōng sī yīn wéi guī bèi chǔ yǐ gāo é fá jīn.
The company was fined a large sum for violating regulations.
，高额。
Zhè xiàng tóu zī huí bào lǜ hěn gāo, dàn xū yào gāo é zī jīn.
This investment has a high return rate, but requires a large amount of capital.
高额。
gāo é De jiào yù chéng běn ràng xǔ duō jiā tíng gǎn dào fù dān chén zhòng.
The high cost of education puts a heavy burden on many families.

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.

额éamount; quota

高 means high and 额 means amount or quota, so together they describe a large or high amount.

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 額; 额 is its simplified writing.

客頁額

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

客

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 額 combines 頁 (head), which points to the meaning, with 客, which gives the sound. The simplified 额 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in