台阶

Traditional form:

臺階

Pinyin (reading):

táijiē

Definitions:

• steps
• flight of steps
• step (over obstacle)
• fig. way out of an embarrassing situation
• bench (geology)

Characters:

• 台 - platform; unit; term of address
• 阶 - stairs, steps; degree, rank

Traditional characters:

• 臺 - platform; unit; term of address
• 階 - stairs, steps; degree, rank