高級

こうきゅう · koukyuu · JLPT N2 · na-adj

first-rate

🎩 高級 = high + class; think 'high-class' fancy hotel with a top hat doorman

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.'

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