tái jiē
step; altar; bench
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
我走上台阶，来到了二楼。
wǒ zǒu shàng tái jiē, lái dào le èr lóu.
I walked up the stairs and came to the second floor.
台阶很滑，我差点摔倒。
tái jiē hěn huá, wǒ chàdiǎn shuāi dǎo.
The stairs were slippery and I almost fell.
台阶上放着一盆花。
tái jiē shàng fàngzhe yī pén huā.
There is a flower pot on the stairs.
级 (jí)
step
阶梯 (jiē tī)
stair
坡道 (pōdào)
ramp
楼梯 (lóutì)
stairs
The Chinese word 台阶 (táijiē) for "step" or "stair" is composed of two characters: 台 (tái) and 阶 (jiē). The character 台 originally meant "high platform" or "stage", and it is often used in compounds to refer to elevated structures or places. For example, the word 舞台 (wǔtái) means "stage", and the word 阳台 (yángtái) means "balcony". The character 阶 originally meant "step" or "stair", and it is often used in compounds to refer to levels or gradations. For example, the word 等级 (děngjí) means "level" or "grade", and the word 阶级 (jiējí) means "class" or "social class". When combined together, the characters 台 and 阶 form the word 台阶, which specifically refers to a "step" or "stair" in a staircase or other structure.
