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告捷

gàojié
verb #68,207

Meanings

  1. 1 to win (a battle or competition); to score a victory
  2. 2 to report a victory

Characters

告
gào
to tell; to announce; to report
捷
jié
victory; quick
Literally 'to report a victory' - a military telegram condensed into one word, now used for any decisive win.

Examples

HSK 7-9
我们的球队首战告捷。
Wǒmen de qiúduì shǒuzhàn gàojié.
Our team won their first match.
HSK 7-9
远征军在前线告捷。
Yuǎnzhēngjūn zài qiánxiàn gàojié.
The expedition force reported victory at the front line.
HSK 7-9
中国乒乓球队在世锦赛上再次告捷。
Zhōngguó pīngpāngqiú duì zài shìjǐnsài shàng zàicì gàojié.
China's table tennis team again won at the world championships.

Tips

register
Formal and news-style - common in sports reporting, military bulletins, and corporate-victory metaphors (election wins, market launches, lawsuits). Pairs especially well with 首战 (first battle / opening match) → 首战告捷 'won the opening round.' In casual speech you'd just say 赢了.
history
Originally military: a victorious commander would 告 (report) a 捷 (victory) back to the throne. The literal meaning has narrowed in modern usage so it now reads more as 'to win' than 'to send word of winning,' but the announcement-of-victory flavor still lingers - you'll see it in headlines like 首日票房告捷 ('opening-day box office wins').

Stroke Order

告 gào
捷 jié