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高举 (gāo jǔ) — to hold high (a flag, banner, torch); to uphold (a principle, ideology)

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to hold high' (literally or figuratively) — used for banners, torches, or abstract ideals like truth and peace. More formal and rhetorical than everyday 举起 ('to lift up').

verb
to hold high (a flag, banner, torch)to uphold (a principle, ideology)

Examples

  • 高举。
    Tā men gāo jǔ zhe qí zhì xiàng qián zǒu.
    They held the banner high as they marched forward.
  • ，高举。
    Zài hēi àn de shí dài, tā gāo jǔ zhēn lǐ de huǒ jù.
    In dark times, he held high the torch of truth.
  • 高举。
    Wǒ men yào gāo jǔ hé píng yǔ fā zhǎn de qí zhì.
    We must hold high the banner of peace and development.

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
举jǔlift

高 gives high and 举 gives lift, so the sense is to hold something up high.

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 舉; 举 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
與
與yǔ舉jǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 舉 pairs 與, which gives the sound, with 手, a hand; the simplified 举 is a later shorthand.

Open 举 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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