高潮迭起 (gāo cháo dié qǐ) — one climax after another; successive high points (of a performance, event, or narrative)

Definition

Idiom for a performance or story whose climactic moments keep coming one after another. Used for events with rising tension — sports, films, speeches — not everyday situations.

verb
one climax after anothersuccessive high points (of a performance, event, or narrative)

Examples

  • 高潮迭起，。
    Zhè chǎng lán qiú bǐ sài gāo cháo dié qǐ, guān zhòng kàn dé shí fēn guò yǐn.
    This basketball game had one climax after another — the audience thoroughly enjoyed it.
  • ，高潮迭起，。
    Zhěng bù diàn yǐng qíng jié jǐn còu, gāo cháo dié qǐ, zhí dào zuì hòu yì fēn zhōng cái jiē xiǎo zhēn xiàng.
    The whole movie has a tight plot with constant climaxes, revealing the truth only in the last minute.
  • ，，高潮迭起。
    Yǎn jiǎng guò chéng zhōng, tā yǐn yòng duō gè shēng dòng àn lì, shǐ de xiàn chǎng qì fen gāo cháo dié qǐ.
    During the speech, he cited several vivid cases, making the atmosphere at the venue full of highlights.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
朝
朝cháo潮cháo
Same sound today

潮 has 氵, the water form 水, on the left to show a water connection, with 朝 on the right giving the sound.

Open 潮 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
失
失shī迭dié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迭 combines 辶, written in full as 辵, with 失 as its sound component.

Open 迭 →

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →

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