爬高 (pá gāo) — to climb high; to ascend to a high place

Definition

A separable verb meaning to climb to a high place or gain height — split as 爬 + 高 (e.g. 爬上高 is fine colloquially; in writing prefer 爬得高 / 爬得很高). Used literally for physical climbing (a mountain, a tree) and figuratively for rising in status.

verb
to climb highto ascend to a high place

Examples

  • 爬高。
    pá gāo Xū yào hěn duō lì qi.
    Climbing high requires a lot of strength.
  • ，。
    Tā pá le sān cì gāo, měi cì dōu chéng gōng le.
    He climbed high three times and succeeded each time.
  • ，。
    Zhè zuò shān tài dǒu le, wǒ pá bú shàng gāo.
    This mountain is too steep; I can't climb very high.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

爬páclimb
高gāohigh

爬 expresses climbing, and 高 gives the result: reaching a high place.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
爪爪zhuǎ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巴
巴bā爬pá
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

爬 pairs 爪, the part that gives the meaning, with 巴, the part that gives the sound.

Open 爬 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.