Meanings
alternative also Kao Hsiung · alternative also Kao-hsiung · alternative Gaosyong · alternative Hanyu Pinyin rare Gaoxiong · alternative Kaohiung · alternative Kaosiung
- A city and special municipality in southern Taiwan, and the third largest city in Taiwan.
Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan and has the biggest seaport.
1998, Robert Storey, Taiwan (Lonely Planet), 4th edition (travel), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 2605 more examples
Although many factors in the industrial picture remain unfavorable, the Government reportedly is taking steps toward rehabilitation of industry. Repairs to the oil refinery at Kaohsiung (Takao) in Taiwan (Formosa) are being made, reportedly under the direction of engineers of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, under the auspices of the China Petroleum Corporation, a subsidiary of the National Resources Commission. This plant, formerly owned by the Japanese, was damaged during the war.
1946 December 14, John Stenhouse, “China's Economy Since the Japanese Surrender”, in Foreign Commerce Weekly, volume XXV, number 11, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4, column 1The existing steel industry is centered at Kaohsiung and is based mainly on local and imported scrap. An integrated steelworks being built by CI&S, also at Kaohsiung, will have an annual ingot capacity of 1.5 million tons by 1977 and, it is hoped 6 million tons by 1983; the bulk of the raw materials needed will be from foreign sources. Meanwhile, large tonnages of finished steel produced are imported.
1978, Kung-Ping Wang, E. Chin, Mineral Economics and Basic Industries in Asia, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 309The mayor of Kaohsiung, Chen Chi-mai, said the southern port city on Saturday also implemented new rules requiring face masks and social distancing.
2021 May 15, Lily Kuo, “Taiwan raises coronavirus alert level as residents stockpile toilet paper and food”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Aug 2021On Friday, three months after she moved in, Ms. Huang was feeling grateful not to be among the dead after a fire tore through the partly abandoned 13-story mixed-used building on Thursday night in the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
2021 October 15, Amy Qin, Amy Chang Chien, “A Last-Chance ‘Ghost’ Building in Taiwan Becomes a Deathtrap for Many”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Oct 2021Speaking to reporters in the southern city of Kaohsiung, Su said the "new Taiwan model" in combating COVID-19 was a "normal life, active epidemic prevention and steady opening".
2022 April 3, Ben Blanchard, “Taiwan says new COVID cases won't affect re-opening plans”, in Simon Cameron-Moore, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2022Synonyms: Kaohsiung City, KHH, Takou, Takow, Dagou
- historicalA former county of Taiwan.First known use 20th c.
Of the Four Great Ancestral Daochang, the Chaofeng Temple is the only one in the southern half of Taiwan; it sits on the slopes of Dagang Mountain in the Alian Rural District of Kaohsiung County.
1999, Charles Brewer Jones, “The Early Japanese Period”, in Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660–1990, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 541 more example
Occupying an area of 2,793, square kilometers, Kaohsiung county lists agriculture as its most important economic activity, followed by industry, commerce and fishing. While it is only 60 kilometers long, the county's coastline is extremely favorable to fishing activities. ¶ With its attractive mountain and seaside scenery, Kaohsiung county has enjoyed rapid development in the tourism industry. The best-known tourist attractions are the Chengching lake in the outskirts of Kaohsiung city, and Fokuangshan, where there are many Buddhist relics.
1981 December 6, “Progress and plenty in Kaohsiung county”, in Free China Weekly, volume XXII, number 48, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 1Synonyms: Takao
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA city and special municipality in southern Taiwan, and the third largest city in Taiwan.
proper nounA former county of Taiwan.
from Hokkien
Origin
- Sirayatakau“bamboo forest”
- Hokkien打狗
- Japanese高雄
- Mandarin高雄
- EnglishKaohsiung
Borrowed from Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin 高雄 (Kao¹-hsiung²), from Japanese 高雄 (Takao) (whence also Takao), from Hokkien 打狗 (Tá-káu) (whence also Takau), from Siraya takau (“bamboo forest”). First attested in late 1945.
More words from Mandarin, Japanese, Hokkien
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic كَاوْشْيُونْغ, غَاوْشْيُونْغ
- كَاوْشْيُونْغ (kāwšyūnḡ)a large city in Taiwan
- غَاوْشْيُونْغ (ḡāwšyūnḡ)a large city in Taiwan
Catalan Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Chinese Cantonese 高雄
- 高雄a large city in Taiwan
Chinese Mandarin 高雄
- 高雄 (Gāoxióng)a large city in Taiwan
Czech Kao-siung
- Kao-siunga large city in Taiwan
Dutch Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Finnish Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
German Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Hindi काऊशुंग
- काऊशुंग (kāūśuṅg)a large city in Taiwan
Hungarian Kaohsziung
- Kaohsziunga large city in Taiwan
Italian Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Japanese 高雄
- 高雄 (Takao)a large city in Taiwan
Korean 고웅, 가오슝
- 고웅 (Goung)a large city in Taiwan
- 가오슝 (Gaosyung)a large city in Taiwan
Lithuanian Gaosiongas
- Gaosiongasa large city in Taiwan
Polish Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Portuguese Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Russian Гаосю́н
- Гаосю́н (Gaosjún)a large city in Taiwan
Spanish Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiunga large city in Taiwan
Thai เกาสฺยง, เกาสง
- เกาสฺยง (Gao-syǒng)a large city in Taiwan
- เกาสง (Gao-sǒng)a large city in Taiwan
Vietnamese Cao Hùng
- Cao Hùnga large city in Taiwan
Cite this entry
Kaohsiung. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kaohsiung
“Kaohsiung.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kaohsiung. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kaohsiung,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kaohsiung.
Source: Kaohsiung on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.