Onyomi: コウ · Kunyomi: -だか, たか, たか.い, たか.まる, たか.める · Meanings: expensive, high, tall
Kanji for expensive, high, tall
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The kanji 高 was originally a pictograph of a tall building or tower with a roof and multiple layers. In ancient times, such high structures symbolized status, protection, and importance — places like watchtowers, temples, or grand halls. The top line represents the roof, the middle box shows the raised structure, and the base marks the foundation. Over centuries, this design came to mean anything “high” — in height, value, or status.
Depicting a tall building with a roof and base, 高 represents height, elevation, and prominence — something raised above the ordinary, whether in structure, value, or position.
This kanji declares: the tall roof stands above all — 高 means high, elevated, and important, a symbol of greatness rising above the rest.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高 | たか | quantity, amount, volume, number, amount of money | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Noun, used as a suffix |
| 高 | こう | high | Prefix, Noun |
| 高等学校 | こうとうがっこう | senior high school, high school | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 高い | たかい | high, tall | common JLPT-N5 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 高校 | こうこう | senior high school, high school | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 高校生 | こうこうせい | senior high school student | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 高価 | こうか | highly priced, expensive, valuable, costly | common JLPT-N3 Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |
| 高速 | こうそく | high-speed, rapid, express | common JLPT-N3 Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', Noun |
| 高度 | こうど | altitude, height, elevation | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 高める | たかめる | to raise, to lift, to boost, to enhance | common JLPT-N2 Ichidan verb, Transitive verb |