高等
gāoděng · HSK 6
advanced
🎓 高 = high/tall + 等 = rank/grade → high rank = advanced
高 means high or tall; 等 means rank, grade, or class (same 等 as in 等级 rank/level). Together: high-rank, i.e. higher or advanced — used for things like 高等教育 higher education.
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.'
等 — bamboo radical 竹 + temple 寺
Originally referred to bamboo slips of equal length used for record-keeping, with 竹 (bamboo) as the semantic component and 寺 suggesting the phonetic. From 'equal-length slips' the meaning extended to 'rank, class,' then 'equal,' and later to 'wait' (to be of equal status in line).