高い

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. このカメラは高いです。▶ —
   This camera is expensive.
2. あの山はとても高いです。▶ —
   That mountain is very tall.

Collocations

Mnemonic

たかい — 高い, Yamato. An i-adjective. One word with two senses living together — high / tall (position, height): あの山は高い (that mountain is tall). expensive (price): このカメラは高い (this camera is expensive). Where English keeps "tall" and "expensive" apart, Japanese ties both to 高い. A rising price was thought of as 'a high price' — and that old metaphor froze: 値段が高い (literally, "the price is high"). Curious asymmetry: the opposites do split — tall ↔ 低い hikui (low). expensive ↔ 安い yasui (cheap). Lumping on one side, splitting on the other — the lopsidedness of Japanese vocabulary lives inside this single word 高い. The kanji 高 is the pictograph of a tall watchtower.

Quick check

1. How do you say "to be tall (in height)"?

   • 背が高い se ga takai (idiomatic, "stature is tall")
   • 高い人 (= "expensive person", wrong)
   • 大きい人 (= "big person", overall size)
   • 高くなる (= "become tall/high")