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高級 (こうきゅう, koukyuu) Japanese meaning: high-class | Kotomora
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記き 念ねん 日び に 高こう 級きゅう な レストラン を 予よ 約やく し た 。
I reserved a high-end restaurant for our anniversary.
Usage patterns 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 は 高こう 級きゅう だ a place is high-class/upscale
This restaurant is very upscale.
高こう 級きゅう な 〈 物もの 〉 を 身み につける to wear/have on a luxury item
She's wearing a high-end wristwatch.
〈 物もの 〉 に 高こう 級きゅう 感かん がある something gives off a sense of luxury/quality
This packaging has a luxurious feel to it.
〈 人ひと 〉 が 高こう 級きゅう 官かん 僚りょう になる someone becomes a senior/high-ranking bureaucrat
He will probably become a senior bureaucrat in the future.
Related words· 14 高価 focuses on a high price tag, while 高級 emphasizes overall class or quality, which is often but not always expensive.
上等 simply means fine or superior quality, whereas 高級 carries a stronger commercial, status-conscious connotation of luxury.
豪華 stresses lavishness and grandeur in appearance, while 高級 focuses more on grade or class, which can be understated.
上級 refers to an advanced or higher grade/level in a hierarchy, while 高級 in this sense stresses seniority or high rank within an organization.
Show 10 more 高等 refers to an advanced level or rank, especially in education or technical hierarchy (高等教育), while 高級 emphasizes luxury or premium quality, as in 高級車 (a luxury car).
高級 is the standard Japanese word for high-class or luxury, while プレミアム is a loanword often used in marketing for the same idea.
高級 means 'high-grade' or 'high-class' and focuses on quality or rank, whereas デラックス emphasizes luxury and abundance of features.
高級 stresses luxury, prestige, or high price, whereas 高品質 focuses purely on the level of craftsmanship or quality itself.
Opposites low-grade; low-class; vulgar
高級 describes something upscale and refined, the opposite of the shoddy, cheap impression of 安っぽい.
高級 describes something upscale, luxurious, or expensive, the opposite of the modest, affordable feel of 庶民的.
Don't confuse with 高等 means advanced or higher-level (as in 高等学校), while 高級 means high-class or luxurious; the two look similar but describe different things.
上級 describes a rank or level within a progression (e.g. an advanced class), while 高級 describes high quality or luxury and is unrelated to hierarchical progression.
高級 means 'high-class' or 'luxury' in a general sense, while 最高級 specifically means the very highest of such classes, so learners often mix up the degree implied.
Word family· 19 highest grade; top class
ultra-luxury; super high-class
high-quality goods; luxury item
high-class restaurant; high-end store
Etymology A Sino-Japanese compound written with 高 meaning high and 級 meaning grade, rank, or class; the spelling directly reflects the ideas of high grade or high rank.
高級 focuses on high grade, price, or class of goods and services, while 上品 focuses on tasteful, refined quality regardless of price.
高級 broadly means high-class or luxury and can describe almost anything, whereas ファイブスター specifically invokes the star-rating system used for hotels and services.
高級 stresses high price or prestige (a luxury brand), while 上質 focuses on the actual fineness of the material or workmanship.
高級 describes something luxurious or high-class in general quality, while 特製 focuses on the fact that it was custom-made or specially prepared.
高級 stresses luxury or high price/quality (e.g. 高級レストラン), while 一級 is a more neutral grading term used in exams, certifications, or product standards.
高級 emphasizes being 'high-class' or luxurious (often about price or brand), while 極上 focuses purely on the intrinsic quality being the finest possible.
高こう 給きゅう
高給 (salary) and 高級 (high-class, luxury) are pronounced identically but refer to completely different things—pay versus quality/status.
sense of luxury; high-class feel
Show 5 more quality newspaper; broadsheet newspaper
luxury car
high-class prostitute; courtesan
elite bureaucrat; high-ranking government official
high-ranking officer; the brass