Chinese Word
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noun HSK 4
gāo zhōng
high school · senior high school · senior middle school

Meaning

高中 refers to the upper secondary education level in China, typically covering grades 10-12 (ages 15-18). It comes after junior high school (初中) and before university. This is a crucial period focused on preparing students for the college entrance examination (高考).

Usage

This term is the standard way to refer to high school in mainland China. It's commonly used in phrases like '上高中' (to attend high school) or '高中生' (high school student). The term emphasizes the 'high' or 'senior' level of middle school education.

Examples

  1. 01
    我儿子明年就要上高中了。
    Wǒ ér zi míng nián jiù yào shàng gāo zhōng le.
    My son will start high school next year.
  2. 02
    她在一所重点高中教数学。
    Tā zài yī suǒ zhòng diǎn gāo zhōng jiāo shù xué.
    She teaches mathematics at a key high school.

Characters

Measure words

  • 所suǒ一所高中

Common collocations

  • 上高中
    shàng gāo zhōng
    to attend high school
  • 高中生
    gāo zhōng shēng
    high school student
  • 高中毕业
    gāo zhōng bì yè
    to graduate from high school
  • 重点高中
    zhòng diǎn gāo zhōng
    key/elite high school

Origin

The term literally means 'high middle' and reflects the Chinese education system's division of middle school into junior (初中) and senior (高中) levels.

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