跳高

• Pinyin: tiào gāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 跳 = 足 (foot) + 兆 (omen, phonetic); 高 = pictograph of a tall building or tower

Meaning

High jump. A track and field event where athletes jump over a horizontal bar set at increasing heights.

Primarily used as a sports term referring to the high jump event in athletics. Can also be used more casually to describe the activity of jumping high. It is a verb-object compound where 跳 means 'to jump' and 高 means 'high'.

Examples

1. 他是学校跳高比赛的冠军。 He is the champion of the school high jump competition.
2. 跳高运动员需要很好的弹跳力。 High jump athletes need excellent jumping ability.
3. 我们下午有跳高训练。 We have high jump training this afternoon.

Usage Guide

Context: sports, school, competition

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 她参加了学校的跳高比赛。(She entered the school high jump competition.)
• 跳高需要很好的技术。(The high jump requires good technique.)

Don't Say

• 我喜欢在公园里跳高。(Don't use 跳高 for casual jumping around — it specifically refers to the high jump sport. For casual jumping, say 跳 or 跳来跳去.)

Origin & History

A verb-object compound: 跳 (to jump) + 高 (high). Directly describes the action of jumping for height, adopted as the standard Chinese term for the high jump event.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal