high 和 tall 都可表示“高”，但它们的用法有区别：
1. tall 表示某物或某人从顶部到底部的距离，其反义词是 short (矮)；high 表示某物高出地面的距离，其反义词是 low(低)。比如：父亲比儿子 tall, 但若儿子站到椅子上，则说儿子比父亲 high。又如：在一张桌子上放了几个高脚玻璃杯，一个小孩拿不到，他可能会说：Those tall glasses are too high for me to reach. (那几个高脚玻璃杯对我来说太高了，我拿不到)。
2. 指人的高度时一般用 tall。如：
You look tall beside her. 和她比起来，你显得要高些。
She has a tall graceful form. 她有着高大优雅的外形。
He was tall and strong in person. 他长得又高又壮。
He is a very tall man, easy to spot in a crowd. 他是个非常高的人，在人群中容易认出来。
Middle-aged, tall and thin, he looked a typical farmer. 他是中年人，瘦高个儿，看起来是个典型的农民。
但是，若说出了人的具体高度，则也可用 high。如：
The man is six feet tall [high]. 这个人身高 6 英尺。
3. 表示细长之物(如树、竹竿、桅杆、烟囱、塔、建筑物等)的高度时，用 high, tall 均可。如：
The wheat was as high as the breast. 麦子高与胸齐。
The garden’s got very high walls. 园子有很高的围墙。
The house is so high and narrow as to resemble a tower. 这房子又高又窄，像一座塔。
He quickly climbed a tall tree. 他迅速爬到一棵大树上。
The seed grew into a tall tree. 种子长成了一棵大树。
There are few tall houses on the shore of the lake. 湖岸上没什么高房子。
I was frightened to look down from the top of the tall building. 我不敢从高楼的顶部往下看。
They came to a little stream, whose banks (=and its banks) were lined with tall trees. 他们来到一条小溪旁，两岸都是高高的树子。
4. 表示抽象意义的高，一般只用 high。如：
He takes a pill to reduce his high blood pressure. 他吃了1片药以降血压。
Oranges have a high vitamin C content. 橙子的维生素C含量很高。
He demanded too high a price of me. 他向我索价太高。
The high cost prohibits the widespread use of the drug. 该药昂贵而影响广泛应用。
Money earns more in a high interest account. 钱放在高利息的账户里获利多。
Only high officials had access to the president. 只有高级官员才可以接近总统。
One of the main attractions of the job is the high salary. 这份工作最吸引人的就是薪水高。
Unemployment among blacks was twice as high as that for white. 黑人的失业人数是白人的两倍。
That playwright has a high place in the history of American literature. 那位剧作家在美国文学史上占有重要地位。
The minister said that there was corruption in high places in the government. 部长说政府部门某些高层人物中间产生了腐败现象。
She balanced the attractions of a high salary against the prospect of working long hours. 她对高薪和长工时两者的利弊作了权衡比较。