高超
gāo chāo · HSK 7
excellent
🏆 高 = tall/high + 超 = surpass; 'high-surpassing' = superlative
高 means high and 超 means to exceed or surpass. Together 高超 literally reads as high-surpassing, used for skills or abilities that tower above the ordinary — excellent, superlative, masterful.
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.'
超 — 走 (run) + 召 (summon, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 走 'run' gives the meaning of moving past or going beyond, while 召 'summon' supplies the sound. The original sense was to leap or stride over something, which extended to 'surpass' and 'exceed'.