Meaning of 高潮
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- high tide; high water
- upsurge; peak of activity
- climax (of a story, a competition etc)
- to have an orgasm
How to use 高潮
In everyday Chinese, 高潮 most often means the climax of a story, film, match or event, or a surge of activity. Example: 比赛进入了高潮。(Bǐsài jìnrù le gāocháo.) The match reached its climax.
高 (gāo) means high and 潮 (cháo) means tide, so 高潮 is literally high tide. Picture the water rising to its highest point, the same way a story or event rises to its most intense moment.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 高峰 (gāofēng) and 高潮 interchangeably, but 高峰 is a peak like rush hour (交通高峰), while 高潮 is the dramatic high point of a story or event. Also keep 潮 in the second tone, cháo, not cǎo or zhāo.
高潮 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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潮 cháo · tide · 15 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 高潮.
| 高兴 | gāoxìng | happy; glad |
| 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 |
| 高尚 | gāoshàng | noble; lofty |
| 身高 | shēngāo | (a person's) height |
| 潮湿 | cháoshī | damp; moist |
| 潮流 | cháoliú | tide; current |
| 高价 | gāojià | high price |
Questions about 高潮
What does 高潮 mean?
高潮 (gāocháo) means "high tide; high water; upsurge; peak of activity" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 高潮?
高潮 is made of 2 characters: 高 (10 strokes), 潮 (15 strokes). That is 25 strokes in total.
Is 高潮 an HSK word?
Yes. 高潮 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 高潮 a rude or awkward word to use?
Usually not. Its common meaning is the climax of a story or event, which is fine in any setting. It can also mean orgasm, so context matters, but phrases like 故事的高潮 (gùshi de gāocháo) are completely normal.
What verbs commonly go with 高潮?
Common pairings are 进入高潮 (jìnrù gāocháo) to enter the climax, 达到高潮 (dádào gāocháo) to reach a climax, and 掀起高潮 (xiānqǐ gāocháo) to set off an upsurge. The last one is often used for movements or campaigns.