居高临下 (jū gāo lín xià) — (idiom) to occupy a commanding position; to hav…

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning 'to look down from on high' — used for both literal heights and a figurative advantage in debate or competition.

idiom

to occupy a commanding positionto have the upper hand (in a contest, debate, etc.)

居高临下，。
Wǒ jūn jū gāo lín xià, dí rén hěn nán gōng shàng lái.
Our army occupies a commanding position; the enemy will find it hard to attack.
，居高临下，。
Zài biàn lùn zhōng, tā jū gāo lín xià, wèn le hěn duō ràng duì fāng nán huí dá de wèn tí.
In the debate, he had the upper hand, asking many questions that were hard for the opponent to answer.
，居高临下，。
Yóu yú zhǎng wò le hé xīn jì shù, zhè jiā gōng sī yì zhí jū gāo lín xià, lǐng xiān yú jìng zhēng duì shǒu.
Because it mastered core technology, this company has always had an advantage, ahead of its competitors.

Characters in this word

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

尸古居

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

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

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

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

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Appears in