Definition
高攀 means 'to try to associate with someone of a higher social status' — usually through marriage, friendship, or business ties. It's a self-deprecating word: the speaker implies they are reaching above their own station. You'll often see it in the negative pattern 高攀不起 ('can't afford to associate with someone so high above'). Use it when declining or feeling unworthy, not when describing someone else's action neutrally.
v.
to associate with someone of higher social status (often used self-deprecatingly)to climb up socially through connections
Examples
- ，高攀。Tā jiā nàme yǒu qián, wǒ kě gāo pān bù qǐ.His family is so rich, I can't presume to associate with them.
- ，高攀。Wǒ zhǐshì yí jiè píngmín, nǎ gǎn gāo pān nǐmen zhèyàng de míngmén wàngzú.I'm just an ordinary person — how would I dare to claim kinship with such a prominent family as yours?
- 高攀，。Tā juéde zìjǐ gāo pān le duìfāng, suǒyǐ chùchù xiǎoxīn yìyì.She felt she had stepped above her station by marrying him, so she acted cautiously in every way.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.