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一較高下

简一较高下 · 繁一較高下

Mandarin · pinyin yī jiào gāo xià

to compete against
to measure oneself against
to go head to head (see who is best)

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
較: Look up this written character
高: gāo · high, tall; lofty, elevated; Kangxi radical 189
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
较: jiào · compare; comparatively, more

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–4 · yi1 jiao4 gao1 xia4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

一較高下 · find source passages ↗ · 一较高下 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to compete against one another and determine who is superior

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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