高等 gāoděng high-level
high-level; higher (animals, education etc); advanced (math etc)
How to remember 高等: 高 high + 等 wait for = high-level.
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How it is used
- Formal adjective for a higher tier in a ranked system - its two anchor collocations are 高等教育 (gāoděng jiàoyù) higher education and 高等动物 (gāoděng dòngwù) higher animals.
- Not a general word for 'tall/high quality' - it means 'higher on a scale/hierarchy'. For excellent quality use 高级 (gāojí) or 优质; for tall use 高.
- Written/technical register; you rarely say it of everyday objects.