高级
high-level; advanced; high-end
HSK level
- Pinyin
- gāojí
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Level
- HSK 4
- Strokes
- 16
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 高级
高级 is written with 16 strokes (高: 10, 级: 6). The animation replays automatically.
What does 高级 mean?
高级 (gāojí) is an adjective meaning 'high-level, advanced, senior, or high-end.'
It spans three related senses: high in rank (高级经理 'senior manager'), advanced in level of skill or study (高级课程 'advanced course,' 高级汉语 'advanced Chinese'), and high in quality or luxury (高级餐厅 'upscale restaurant,' 高级化妆品 'premium cosmetics'). Literally 'high grade,' it evaluates something as being at a superior tier. Two differences from English: first, one word 高级 covers 'advanced' (level), 'senior' (rank), and 'high-end' (luxury), where English uses three separate words — context tells you which.
Second, unlike 'advanced' in English, 高级 also strongly implies expense and prestige, so calling a restaurant 高级 signals it is fancy and pricey, not merely 'advanced.' Its opposite is 低级 (dījí, 'low-grade / vulgar'). Register is neutral and widely used.
Character by character
Memory hook: 高 (high) + 级 (grade) = high grade — advanced, senior, or high-end.
Hear 高级 in real episodes
高级 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
那里的厨师 Harold Moore 做过很多高级的菜。
The chef there, Harold Moore, has made many high-end dishes.
Top Chefs Cook Fine Food and Reach for Taco Bell After Work
Example sentences
这是一家高级餐厅，很贵。
Zhè shì yì jiā gāojí cāntīng, hěn guì.
This is an upscale restaurant, very expensive.
spoken
他在学高级汉语。
Tā zài xué gāojí Hànyǔ.
He's studying advanced Chinese.
neutral
她是公司的高级经理。
Tā shì gōngsī de gāojí jīnglǐ.
She's a senior manager at the company.
neutral
这个手机看起来很高级。
Zhège shǒujī kàn qǐlái hěn gāojí.
This phone looks very high-end.
spoken
Common phrases with 高级
Synonyms
高档 specifically means 'high-end / upscale' about product or venue quality and price (高档商场 'upscale mall'). 高级 is broader — it also covers rank and skill level. For 'expensive and fancy' both work; for 'advanced level' or 'senior rank,' use 高级.
先进 means 'advanced' in the sense of leading-edge technology or methods (先进技术 'advanced technology'). 高级 means high in grade/rank/quality. A machine is 先进 (cutting-edge); a hotel is 高级 (upscale).
Don't confuse 高级 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 高级 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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