A tall mountain

hirashin

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8 Apr 2004

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• 8 May 2013

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Hello, native English speakers. I have a question about the usage of "tall".

I think you can say "a tall man", "a tall building", and "a tall tree".
But do you also say "a tall mountain"? Don't you say "a high mountain"?

I am asking about it because I saw the phrase in the Japantimes website. Here's the link:
Mount Fuji on verge of World Heritage listing

Mount Fuji on verge of World Heritage listing

An important UNESCO panel has recommended that World Heritage status be granted to Mount Fuji, putting the iconic peak on a direct path to registration.
Japan's tallest mountain is expected to be formally listed in June when the World Heritage Committee meets in Cambodia.

Hirashin:?

 

nahadef

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• 8 May 2013

• #2

It's a strange difference, but tall is the actual height of something from top to bottom, while high is the level of something over the earth, in an altitude sort of way. In that way, Everest is the highest mountain, but it's not the tallest mountain. The tallest mountain is one in the Pacific ocean somewhere, mostly under the water.
For lots of English speakers, they are interchangeable, technically, they aren't. Perhaps Fuji is also the tallest?

 

hirashin

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• 9 May 2013

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Thank you for the help, nahadef. Are you originally from the US?

So you can say both "Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan" and "Mt. Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan." Am I right?

Hirashin

 

nahadef

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• 9 May 2013

• #4

hirashin said:

Thank you for the help, nahadef.ﾂ Are you originally from the US?
So you can say both "Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan" and "Mt. Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan." Am I right?
Hirashin

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I'm Canadian, and yes, both seem to be accurate, but highest might be a little better.

 

hirashin

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Thank you for the help, nahadef.

By the way, are you a professional comic artist?

Hirashin

 

nahadef

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hirashin said:

Thank you for the help, nahadef.
By the way, are you a professional comic artist?
Hirashin

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Not at all, it's just a hobby

 

hirashin

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• 13 May 2013

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Wow! You are not a professional. Why don't you become one?

Hirashin