Meaning of 高原
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- plateau
Measure word: 片
How to use 高原
高原 is used for large raised areas of flat land, and it often appears in geography and travel talk. The most famous one is 青藏高原 (Qīngzàng Gāoyuán), the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Example: 西藏在高原上，空气很稀薄。(Xīzàng zài gāoyuán shang, kōngqì hěn xībó.) Tibet is on a plateau, and the air is very thin.
高 (gāo) means high and 原 (yuán) means a wide, open field or plain. Put them together and you get a high plain: a plateau.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 原 (yuán, plain, original) with 源 (yuán, source), which has the water radical 氵 on the left. 高原 never uses 源, so leave the water out.
高原 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
高 gāo · high · 10 strokes
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原 yuán · former · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 高原.
| 高兴 | gāoxìng | happy; glad |
| 原因 | yuányīn | cause; origin |
| 原来 | yuánlái | original; former; originally; formerly; at first |
| 高中 | gāozhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学[gao1 ji2 zhong1 xue2]) |
| 提高 | tígāo | to raise; to increase |
| 高级 | gāojí | high level; high grade |
| 高速公路 | gāosù gōnglù | expressway; highway; freeway |
| 高速 | gāosù | high speed; expressway (abbr. for 高速公路[gao1 su4 gong1 lu4]) |
| 跳高 | tiàogāo | (athletics) high jump |
| 原则 | yuánzé | principle; doctrine |
| 高潮 | gāocháo | high tide; high water; upsurge; peak of activity |
| 高尚 | gāoshàng | noble; lofty |
Questions about 高原
What does 高原 mean?
高原 (gāoyuán) means "plateau" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 高原?
高原 is made of 2 characters: 高 (10 strokes), 原 (10 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.
Is 高原 an HSK word?
Yes. 高原 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is altitude sickness in Chinese?
It is 高原反应 (gāoyuán fǎnyìng), literally plateau reaction. People often shorten it to 高反 (gāofǎn) in casual speech, for example 我有点儿高反 (wǒ yǒudiǎnr gāofǎn), I have a bit of altitude sickness.
How is 高原 different from 平原 and 山?
平原 (píngyuán) is a low, flat plain, while 高原 is flat land at a high elevation. 山 (shān) is a mountain, which rises to a peak instead of staying broad and flat.