上

2 readings · tap one to hear it

(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; (noun suffix) on; above

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HSK 3.0: Level 1
Old HSK: Level 1
Strokes: 3
Radical: 一 +2
Structure: Top–bottom 上下
Traditional: 上
Common rank: #38
Unicode: U+4E0A

Sound it out + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 上 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

One stroke on top of another; compare 下 (below)

Components ⺊一

How to remember it

above · Heisig RSH #45

magic wand + floor

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 上

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
上学	shàng xué	to go to school; to attend school
地上	dì shang	on the ground; on the floor
马上	mǎ shàng	at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force)
上车	shàng chē	to get on or into (a bus, train, car etc)
路上	lù shang	on the road; on the way; en route
身上	shēn shang	on the body; at hand; among
关上	guān shàng	to close (a door); to turn off (light, electrical equipment etc)
上网	shàng wǎng	to go online; to connect to the Internet; (of a document etc) to be uploaded to the Intern…
网上	wǎng shàng	online
上边	shàng bian	the top; above; overhead; upwards; the top margin; above-mentioned; those higher up
上次	shàng cì	last time
上班	shàng bān	to go to work; to be on duty; to start work; to go to the office
楼上	lóu shàng	upstairs; (Internet slang) previous poster in a forum thread
早上	zǎo shang	early morning; CL:個\|个[ge4]
晚上	wǎn shang	evening; night; CL:個\|个[ge4]; in the evening
上课	shàng kè	to go to class; to attend class; to go to teach a class
上午	shàng wǔ	morning
心上人	xīn shàng rén	sweetheart; one's beloved
上海大学	Shàng hǎi Dà xué	Shanghai University
上山	shàng shān	to climb a hill; to go to the mountains; (of silkworms) to go up bundles of straw (to spin…

Sound family

These characters use 上 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
上 sound part	shàng	above, on top, superior; to go up; to attend; previous
让	ràng	to allow, to permit, to yield