跳高
tiào gāo · HSK 3
jump
🏃 跳高 = 跳 (jump) + 高 (high)
Literal compound: 跳 tiào means jump and 高 gāo means high or tall. Together they name the track-and-field event where athletes jump over a raised bar — the high jump.
跳 — foot 足 + 兆 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 carries the meaning, since jumping is done with the feet, while 兆 (zhào) supplies the sound. Originally meaning 'to leap' or 'spring up,' it later extended to senses like 'skip over' and 'beat' (as in a pulse).
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.'