上

See also: 丄
上 U+4E0A, 上
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E0A
← 三
[U+4E09]
CJK Unified Ideographs 下 →
[U+4E0B]

Translingual

Stroke order
3 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

上 (Kangxi radical 1, 一+2, 3 strokes, cangjie input 卜一 (YM), four-corner 21100, composition ⿱⺊一)

Derived characters

References

  • KangXi: page 76, character 7
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13
  • Dae Jaweon: page 145, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 5, character 4
  • Unihan data for U+4E0A

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 上
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming) Libian (compiled in Qing) Kangxi Dictionary (compiled in Qing)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Ancient script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts Clerical script Ming typeface





References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Ideogram (指事) : a line above another (contrast 下) — up. Originally written as 𠄞, but changed to this form to prevent confusion with 二 (èr).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.
上
alternative forms 丄 ancient
𠄞
尚 Min Nan “most”

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-tjaŋ (“top”). Cognate with Tibetan སྟེང (steng), Tibetan ཡང་རྩེ (yang rtse, “summit; pinnacle”) (Bodman, 1980), Mizo zo (“to be high”), zah (“to respect; to revere”) (STEDT).

Shijing rimes indicate occasional level tone for pronunciation 2 (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation 1 is the exopassive of pronunciation 2 with suffix *-s, literally meaning "what has been raised" (Schuessler, 2007). The rising tone in Middle Chinese words with voiced stop initials regularly evolves into departing tone in Mandarin; pronunciation 3 results from 叶韻/叶韵 (xiéyùn), which artificially preserves classical poetry rhyming words' pronunciations.

Pronunciation 1


Note: Xiamen siāng - only used for “most”.
    • (Teochew)
      • Peng'im: zion7 / ziên7 / siang6
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsiōⁿ / tsiēⁿ / siăng
      • Sinological IPA (key): /t͡sĩõ¹¹/, /t͡sĩẽ¹¹/, /siaŋ³⁵/
Note:
  • zion7/ziên7 - vernacular (“upper part; up; on; above; in”);
  • siang6 - literary (“superior; most”).
  • Wu
  • Xiang
    • (Changsha)
      • Wiktionary: shan5 / shan4
      • Sinological IPA (key) (old-style): /ʂan²¹/, /ʂan⁴⁵/
      • Sinological IPA (key) (new-style): /san²¹/, /san⁴⁵/
Note:
  • shan5 - vernacular;
  • shan4 - literary.

Rime
Character 上
Reading # 2/2
Initial (聲) 常 (25)
Final (韻) 陽 (105)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 時亮切
Baxter dzyangH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/d͡ʑɨɐŋH/
Pan
Wuyun
/d͡ʑiɐŋH/
Shao
Rongfen
/d͡ʑiɑŋH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/d͡ʑɨaŋH/
Li
Rong
/ʑiaŋH/
Wang
Li
/ʑĭaŋH/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ʑi̯aŋH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
shàng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
soeng6
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 上
Reading # 3/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
shàng
Middle
Chinese
‹ dzyangH ›
Old
Chinese
/*daŋʔ-s/
English top, above (n.)

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 上
Reading # 2/2
No. 11103
Phonetic
component
上
Rime
group
陽
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
尚
Old
Chinese
/*djaŋs/
Definitions

上

  1. upper part; high position; up
    Antonym: 下 (xià)
  2. † emperor
  3. on; above
    樹上/树上  ―  shùshàng  ―  on the tree
    筆在桌上。/笔在桌上。  ―  Bǐ zài zhuōshàng.  ―  The pen is on the desk.
  4. superior; senior; top
  5. preceding; previous; last; former
    上一年  ―  shàng yī nián  ―  last year
    上集  ―  shàng jí  ―  last episode
    上世紀/上世纪  ―  shàng shìjì  ―  last century
  6. first of several (usually two or three) partitions
    Antonyms: 中 (zhōng), 下 (xià)
    西遊記上/西游记上  ―  Xīyóujì shàng  ―  Journey to the West I
    上古漢語和中古漢語 [MSC, trad.]
    上古汉语和中古汉语 [MSC, simp.]
    shànggǔ hànyǔ hé zhōnggǔ hànyǔ [Pinyin]
    Old Chinese and Middle Chinese
  7. within; in; from the standpoint of; according to
    在理論上/在理论上  ―  zài lǐlùn shàng  ―  according to theory
    在這個世界上/在这个世界上  ―  zài zhège shìjiè shàng  ―  in this world
    在英文上沒有相似的說法。 [MSC, trad.]
    在英文上没有相似的说法。 [MSC, simp.]
    Zài yīngwén shàng méiyǒu xiàngsì de shuōfǎ. [Pinyin]
    There is no similar way of wording in English.
  8. (Min Nan) most; extremely
Synonyms

Pronunciation 2


Note:
  • sông / song1 - “to go up; to go; to attend” (major reading);
  • sóng / song3 - “to fit; to install; to apply”.
  • Jin
    • (Taiyuan)+
      • Wiktionary: son3 / hon3
      • Sinological IPA (old-style): /sɒ̃⁴⁵/, /xɒ̃⁴⁵/
  • Min Dong
    • (Fuzhou)
      • Bàng-uâ-cê: siông / chiông
      • Sinological IPA (key): /suɔŋ²⁴²/, /t͡sʰuɔŋ²⁴²/
Note:
  • siông - “to go up” (major reading);
  • chiông - only in “to pull up”.
Note:
  • chiūⁿ/chiōⁿ/chiǔⁿ - “to go up” (major reading);
  • chhiūⁿ/chhiōⁿ/chhiǔⁿ - only in “to pull up; to grow; to pile up”.
  • Wu
  • Xiang
    • (Changsha)
      • Wiktionary: shan5 / shan4
      • Sinological IPA (key) (old-style): /ʂan²¹/, /ʂan⁴⁵/
      • Sinological IPA (key) (new-style): /san²¹/, /san⁴⁵/
Note:
  • shan5 - vernacular;
  • shan4 - literary.

Rime
Character 上
Reading # 1/2
Initial (聲) 常 (25)
Final (韻) 陽 (105)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 時掌切
Baxter dzyangX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/d͡ʑɨɐŋX/
Pan
Wuyun
/d͡ʑiɐŋX/
Shao
Rongfen
/d͡ʑiɑŋX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/d͡ʑɨaŋX/
Li
Rong
/ʑiaŋX/
Wang
Li
/ʑĭaŋX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ʑi̯aŋX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
shàng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
soeng6
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 上 上
Reading # 1/3 2/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
shàng shàng
Middle
Chinese
‹ dzyangX › ‹ dzyangX ›
Old
Chinese
/*Cə-daŋʔ/ /*m-daŋʔ/
English ascend to put up

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 上
Reading # 1/2
No. 11102
Phonetic
component
上
Rime
group
陽
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
上
Old
Chinese
/*djaŋʔ/
Definitions

上

  1. to go up; to ascend
  2. to charge; to advance
    上啊!  ―  Shàng a!  ―  Charge!
  3. to go to; to leave for (a place) (usually to a more developed place)
    上省城  ―  shàng xǐngchéng  ―  to go to the province capital
  4. to board; to get on
    請上車。/请上车。  ―  Qǐng shàng chē.  ―  Please get into the car.
  5. to serve; to present; to offer
    還有兩個菜沒上。/还有两个菜没上。  ―  Háiyǒu liǎng ge cài méi shàng.  ―  There're two dishes that haven't been served.
    上筆和紙來。/上笔和纸来。  ―  Shàng bǐ hé zhǐ lái.  ―  Give me the pen and the paper.
  6. to attend (class, work)
    上班  ―  shàngbān  ―  to go to work
    她上夜校。  ―  Tā shàng yèxiào.  ―  She goes to night school.
  7. to enter (a field); to appear (on stage, TV)
  8. to fit; to install; to apply
    上油漆  ―  shàng yóuqī  ―  to apply paint
  9. to screw; to tighten, to twist
  10. (colloquial) Short for 上線 (“to go online”).
  11. to connect to; browse (a website)
    上谷歌  ―  shàng Gǔgē  ―  to go on Google; to google
  12. (Cantonese) to go north
  13. (Min) to pull upwards or hang with a rope
    上水 [Hokkien]  ―  chhiūⁿ-chúi [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  to draw water from a well
  14. (Min Nan) to grow and attach
    上青苔 [Hokkien]  ―  chhiūⁿ chheⁿ-thî [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  to grow moss
  15. (Xiamen Min Nan) to pile up
    上貨/上货 [Hokkien]  ―  chhiūⁿ-hòe [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  to pile up goods
  16. (vulgar, usually of a male) to fuck; to have intercourse (usually with a female)
  17. Particle following verbs, indicating direction or achievement.
    安排上了。  ―  Ānpái shàng le.  ―  It has been arranged.
  18. 7th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "ascension" (𝌌)
  19. (mahjong, Cantonese) chow; to call a discarded tile to produce a chow
Usage notes
  • When playing mahjong in Cantonese, a player may say this word as a call when forming a chowing another player's discard
Synonyms

Pronunciation 3



Rime
Character 上
Reading # 1/2
Initial (聲) 常 (25)
Final (韻) 陽 (105)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 時掌切
Baxter dzyangX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/d͡ʑɨɐŋX/
Pan
Wuyun
/d͡ʑiɐŋX/
Shao
Rongfen
/d͡ʑiɑŋX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/d͡ʑɨaŋX/
Li
Rong
/ʑiaŋX/
Wang
Li
/ʑĭaŋX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ʑi̯aŋX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
shàng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
soeng6
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 上
Reading # 1/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
shàng
Middle
Chinese
‹ dzyangX ›
Old
Chinese
/*Cə-daŋʔ/
English ascend

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 上
Reading # 1/2
No. 11102
Phonetic
component
上
Rime
group
陽
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
上
Old
Chinese
/*djaŋʔ/
Definitions

上

  1. (~聲) (Chinese phonetics) rising tone in Chinese phonetics
See also
The tones (of Chinese) in Chinese · 聲調/声调 (shēngdiào) (layout · text)
平仄 (píngzè) 平
平聲/平声 (píngshēng)
仄 (zè)
仄聲/仄声 (zèshēng)
平上去入
四聲/四声 (sìshēng)
古四聲/古四声
平
平聲/平声 (píngshēng)
上
上聲/上声
去 (qù)
去聲/去声 (qùshēng)
入 (rù)
入聲/入声 (rùshēng)
標調方法/标调方法 (biāodiào fāngfǎ)
標調法/标调法
四角標調法/四角标调法 ꜀◌ ꜂◌ ◌꜄ ◌꜆
[Term?] ◌〪 ◌〫 ◌〬 ◌〭
傍點/傍点 ∅ ◌〮 ◌〯 ∅
∅ -X -H -p -t -k (-ʔ)
四聲八調/四声八调 陰平/阴平 (yīnpíng) 陽平/阳平 (yángpíng) 陰上/阴上 (yīnshǎng) 陽上/阳上 (yángshǎng) 陰去/阴去 (yīnqù) 陽去/阳去 (yángqù) 陰入/阴入 (yīnrù) 陽入/阳入 (yángrù)
陰/阴 (yīn) 陽/阳 (yáng)
標調方法/标调方法 (biāodiào fāngfǎ)
標調法/标调法
四角標調法/四角标调法 ꜀◌ ꜁◌ ꜂◌ ꜃◌ ◌꜄ ◌꜅ ◌꜆ ◌꜇
The tones (of Standard Mandarin) in Chinese · 聲調/声调 (shēngdiào) (layout · text)
四聲/四声 (sìshēng) 陰平/阴平 (yīnpíng)
第一聲/第一声
陽平/阳平 (yángpíng)
第二聲/第二声
上聲/上声
第三聲/第三声
去聲/去声 (qùshēng)
第四聲/第四声
輕聲/轻声 (qīngshēng)

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (上):
  • → Japanese: 上(じょう) (jō)
  • → Korean: 상(上) (sang)
  • → Vietnamese: thượng (上, “upper”), thướng (上, “to go up”)

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.
上

Pronunciation


Definitions

上

  1. (music) Kunqu gongche notation for the note do (1).
  2. (music) Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note do (1).

Derived terms

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of 上 – see 緔 (“to sole a shoe”).
(This character, 上, is the second-round simplified form of 緔.)
Notes:

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of 上 – see 鞝 (“the piece of leather used for soles on Chinese shoes; a patch of leather”).
(This character, 上, is the second-round simplified form of 鞝.)
Notes:

Further reading

Japanese

Kanji

上

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

  1. above, high, up
  2. earlier
  3. excellent, top
  4. certain time or place in the past
  5. limit
  6. climb, rise
  7. offer
  8. go to the center
  9. raise, bring up
  10. one of the four tones of Middle Chinese
  11. short for 上野国 (Kōzuke no kuni): Kōzuke Province

Readings

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
上
うえ
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

⟨upe2⟩ → /*upai̯/ → /upe/ → /ufe/ → /uwe/ → /ue/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *upay.

Unbound apophonic form of uwa, ancient upa (see below), possibly by fusion with an emphatic nominal particle い (i).

Pronunciation

Noun

上(うえ) • (ue) ←うへ (ufe)?

  1. the above
    『上(うえ)を向(む)いて歩(ある)こう』
    “Ue o Muite Arukō”
    Walk Looking Up
  2. the top (position or direction)
    箱(はこ)の上(うえ)
    hako no ue
    top of the box
  3. the surface of
    水(みず)の上(うえ)に浮(う)かぶ
    mizu no ue ni ukabu
    to float upon the water
  4. superior in skill, age, level, etc.
    一(ひと)つ上(うえ)の先輩(せんぱい)
    hitotsu ue no senpai
    senior who is one year older
    二(ふた)回(まわ)り上(うえ)の上司(じょうし)
    futamawari-ue no jōshi
    boss who is 20 years older (than someone else)
Antonyms
Derived terms
Idioms

Suffix

上(うえ) • (-ue) ←うへ (ufe)?

  1. suffix addressing to a superior
Derived terms

Proper noun

上(うえ) • (Ue) ←うへ (ufe)?

  1. a surname

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
上
うわ
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

/upa/ → /ufa/ → /uwa/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *upa. The combining form of ue, ancient upe (see above).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɯ̟ᵝɰᵝa̠]

Noun

上(うわ) • (uwa) ←うは (ufa)?

  1. upper, over
Derived terms

Proper noun

上(うわ) • (Uwa) ←うは (ufa)?

  1. a place name

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
上
へ
Grade: 1
kun’yomi
Kanji in this term
上
え
Grade: 1
irregular

⟨upe2⟩ → ⟨pe2⟩ → */pe/ → /fe/ → /he/

Short-form of or shift from ue, ancient upe (see above). Realized as -e in some compounds.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [he̞]
  • IPA(key): [e̞]
Usage notes

The senses are the same with ue.

Derived terms
  • ⦃⦃ja-r¦尾上¦おのえ⦄⦄

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
上
かみ
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

⟨kami1⟩ → */kamʲi/ → /kami/

From Old Japanese. Already apparent in ancient texts such as the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE).[1][4]

Distinct from 神 (⟨kami2⟩ → kami, “Shinto deity”).

Pronunciation

Noun

上(かみ) • (kami) 

  1. the start
  2. a high place; the top
  3. one with higher rank
Antonyms
Derived terms
Idioms

Proper noun

上(かみ) • (Kami) 

  1. a place name
  2. a surname

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
上
かん
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

/kami/ → /kamʉ/ → /kaɴ/

Contraction of Old Japanese ⟨kami1⟩. Spelled in ancient works as ⦃⦃ja-r¦かむ⦄⦄ prior to the development of the ⦃⦃ja-r¦ん⦄⦄ kana.[1][4][5]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kã̠ɴ]

Noun

上(かん) • (kan) 

  1. (obsolete) Same as かみ (kami) above
Usage notes

Generally only found when followed by the genitive / possessive particles の (no) or つ (tsu).

Derived terms

Proper noun

上(かん) • (Kan) 

  1. a place name

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
上
じょう
Grade: 1
goon

/d͡ʑɨau/ → /d͡ʑɔː/ → /d͡ʑoː/

From Middle Chinese 上 (MC d͡ʑɨɐŋX, d͡ʑɨɐŋH).

Pronunciation

  • Pitch accent for suffix unknown.

Noun

上(じょう) • (jō) ←じやう (zyau)?

  1. the first volume in a two- or three-volume set
    Antonym: 下 (ge)

Suffix

上(じょう) • (-jō) ←じやう (zyau)?

  1. from the standpoint of...
    理(り)論(ろん)上(じょう)はありえないこと
    riron-jō wa arienai koto
    something that is impossible according to theory
    法(ほう)律(りつ)上(じょう)の争(そう)訟(しょう)
    hōritsu-jō no sōshō
    legal dispute
  2. aboard (a plane, ship, etc.)
  3. above, in, on
Derived terms

Proper noun

上(じょう) • (Jō) ←じやう (zyau)?

  1. a surname

References

  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. 1974, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Second Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  4. 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  5. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

上 (eumhun 윗 상 (wit sang))

  1. Hanja form? of 상 (“up; top; first; best”).

Compounds

Vietnamese

Han character

上: Hán Việt readings: thượng (時(thì)亮(lượng)切(thiết))[1][2][3][4]
上: Nôm readings: thượng[1][3][4][5]

  1. chữ Hán form of thượng (“upper; higher; top”).

Compounds

References

  1. Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  2. Trần (2004).
  3. Bonet (1899).
  4. Génibrel (1898).
  5. Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).
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