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Chinese/Dictionary entry

高处不胜寒

gāo chù bù shèng hándictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
it's lonely at the top (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-f1be0f16a34d28c6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

高處不勝寒 高处不胜寒 [gao1 chu4 bu4 sheng4 han2] /it's lonely at the top (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 高處不勝寒

  • 高
    gāo

    high / tall / above average / loud / your (honorific)

    Gāo

    surname Gao

  • 处
    chǔ

    to reside / to live / to dwell / to be in / to be situated at / to stay / to get along with / to be in a position of / to deal with / to discipline / to punish

    chù

    (bound form) place / locality / (bound form) part / aspect / (bound form) office / department / bureau / classifier for locations: spot, point

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 胜
    shèng

    victory / success / to beat / to defeat / to surpass / victorious / superior to / to get the better of / better than / surpassing / superb (of vista) / beautiful (scenery) / wonderful (view) / (Taiwan pr. [shēng]) able to bear / equal to (a task)

  • 寒
    hán

    cold / poor / to tremble

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.