提高
tígāo · HSK 2
increase
📈 提 (carry/lift) + 高 (high) = lift up high → raise, enhance
提 means to carry or lift by hand (扌 hand radical); 高 means tall or high. Together: to lift something to a higher level — raise, improve, enhance. Common in 提高水平 (raise the level).
提 — hand radical 扌 + 是 (phonetic)
提 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning, since the character originally referred to lifting or carrying something by hand. The right side 是 supplies the sound. From 'lift up' it extended to 'raise (an issue),' 'mention,' and 'bring forward.'
高 — pictograph of a tall building/tower
高 is a pictograph of a tall structure, likely a watchtower or multi-story gate, with a roof on top, an upper chamber, and a base below. From this concrete image of height it extended to the general meanings 'tall,' 'high,' and figuratively 'lofty' or 'noble.'