Where 上 comes from
One stroke on top of another; compare 下 (below)
How to write 上 (shàng, “up”)
上 (shàng), an HSK 1 character, means “up”, “first” and “to climb”. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 上午 (“morning”), 上学 (“to go to school”) and 上班 (“to go to work”). Japanese reads it jou, “above”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- shàng
- Strokes
- 3
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 一 (“one”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
As a top-bottom character it splits into ⺊ (“divination”), strokes 1–2; 一 (“one”, the radical), stroke 3, written the top first.
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 3 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| shàng fourth tone | (bound form) up; upper; above; previous; first (of multiple parts); to climb; to get onto; to go up; to attend (class or university); (directional complement) up | — | 上午 上学 上班 上课 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 470 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 上
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上 | shàng | up; upper HSK 1 |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | morning HSK 1 |
| 上学 上學 | shàngxué | to go to school; to attend school HSK 1 |
| 上班 | shàngbān | to go to work; to be on duty HSK 1 |
| 上课 上課 | shàngkè | to go to class; to attend class HSK 1 |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning HSK 1 |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening; night HSK 1 |
| 上去 | shàngqù | to go up HSK 2 |
| 上来 上來 | shànglái | to come up; to approach HSK 2 |
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | on top of; above-mentioned HSK 2 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
Contain it:
HSK 1, in list order: