Dictionary › 台阶

台阶

tái jiē

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 level 5 2-character word Traditional 臺階

台阶 (tái jiē) means "steps". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 台阶 means

1. steps
2. flight of steps
3. step (over obstacle)
4. fig. way out of an embarrassing situation
5. bench (geology)

The characters in 台阶

• 台tái(classical) you (in letters); variant of 台
• 阶jiērank or step; stairs

Example sentences

• 他俩的爱情，已经上升了一个台阶。
  Their love has gone to the next level.
• 我每次去巴黎，都会去圣心大教堂，坐在台阶上，听下面的人唱歌、弹琴。
  Wǒ měicì qù Bālí, dōu huì qù shèngxīn dàjiàotáng, zuò zài táijiē shàng, tīng xiàmiàn de rén chànggē, tánqín.
  Every time I go to Paris, I visit the Sacred Heart Basilica, sit on the steps, and listen to the people below singing and playing musical instruments.

Words containing 台阶

• 下台阶xià tái jiēto extricate oneself; way out
• 找台阶儿zhǎo tái jiē rto find an excuse; to look for a pretext

Where 台阶 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Buildings, Dormitories & Sacred Spaces (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read tái jiē correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.