高声 (gāo shēng) — loudly; in a loud voice | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

高声 means 'loudly, in a loud voice' — typically modifies speech verbs like 说, 喊, 唱. More formal and written than 大声, which is the everyday spoken choice.

adverb

loudlyin a loud voice

Examples

高声。
Tā gāo shēng hǎn le yī shēng.
He shouted loudly.
高声。
Qǐng bú yào zài tú shū guǎn lǐ gāo shēng shuō huà.
Please don't speak loudly in the library.
高声，。
Tā gāo shēng chàng le yì shǒu gē, dà jiā dōu gǔ zhǎng le.
She sang a song loudly, and everyone applauded.

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 (“high”) + 声 (“voice”) gives “high voice”, i.e. loudly.

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

殸耳聲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

殸

殸qìng聲shēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Appears in

Communication & Speech

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