高考
gāo kǎo · HSK 6
college entrance exam
📝 高 (high) + 考 (exam) = the high-stakes exam
高考 literally combines 高 'high' and 考 'test/exam'. It refers to China's national college entrance exam — the highest-stakes test in a student's life, gatekeeping university admission.
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.'
考 — old 老 (top) + 丂 phonetic
Originally written like 老 ('old'), 考 depicted an elderly person with long hair leaning on a cane, and the two characters were once interchangeable. Over time 考 specialized to mean 'deceased father' and later 'to examine, test, investigate,' with the bottom 丂 hinting at the sound.