# Kaohsiung

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˌkaʊ ˈʃjʊŋ/ · frequency rank #58,789

## Definitions
1. A city and special municipality in southern Taiwan, and the third largest city in Taiwan.
2. A former county of Taiwan.

## Etymology
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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/kaohsiung