高尚
gāo shàng · HSK 4
noble
高 = tall/high + 尚 = esteem/value → 'high-esteemed' = noble, lofty
高 means high or tall; 尚 means to esteem or value highly (also 'still/yet'). Together they describe character that is elevated and held in high regard — noble, refined, morally lofty.
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.'
尚 — 八 (eight/divide) over 向 (window/direction)
Originally depicted vapor or breath rising and dispersing upward from an opening, suggesting elevation and what is above. From this came the meanings 'still,' 'yet,' and 'to esteem' — what one looks up to. The modern senses of 'esteem' and 'still/yet' both stem from this upward orientation.