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上

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

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

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

Derived charactersEdit

ReferencesEdit

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

ChineseEdit

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

Glyph originEdit

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

j00024

 

j00025

 

j00026

 

j00027

 

j00028

 

j00029

 

j00030

Bronze inscriptions
 

b00109

 

b00110

 

b00111

 

b00112

 

b00113

 

b00114

 

b00115

 

b00116

 

b00117

 

b00118

 

b00119

 

b00120

 

b00121

 

b00122

 

b00123

 

b00124

 

b00125

 

b00126

 

b00127

 

b00128

 

b00129

 

b00130

 

b00131

 

b00132

 

b00133

Small seal script
 

s00008

Transcribed ancient scripts
 

L35088

 

L35089

 

L35090

 

L35091

 

L35092

 

L35093

 

L35094

 

L17519

 

L17520

 

L17521

 

L17522

 

L17523

 

L17524

 

L17525

 

L17526

 

L17527

 

L17528

 

L17529

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).
Characters in the same phonetic series (上) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
丄 *djaŋʔ, *djaŋs
上 *djaŋʔ, *djaŋs

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 1Edit

From Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Tibetan ཡང་རྩེ (yang rtse, “summit; pinnacle”) (Bodman, 1980), Mizo zo (“to be high”), zah (“to respect; to revere”). STEDT, on the other hand, considers 上 to be from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-tjaŋ (“upper part; rise; raise; top; summit”).

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 1Edit

Note: Xiamen siāng - only used for “most”.
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
    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
    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/
    DefinitionsEdit

    上

    1. upper part; high position; up
      Antonyms: 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

    Pronunciation 2Edit

    Note:
    • sông / song1 - “to go up; to go; to attend” (major reading);
    • sóng / song3 - “to fit; to install; to apply”.
  • Jin
  • Min Dong
    • Note:
    • siông - “to go up” (major reading);
    • chiông - only in “to pull up”.
  • Min Nan
    • 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
    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
    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/
    DefinitionsEdit

    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 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
    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. (Min) to pull upwards or hang with a rope
    13. (Min Nan) to grow and attach
    14. (Xiamen Min Nan) to pile up
    15. (vulgar, of a male) to fuck; to have intercourse with a female
    16. Particle following verbs, indicating direction or achievement.
      • 安排上了。  ―  Ānpái shàng le.  ―  (please add an English translation of this example)
    17. 7th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "ascension" (𝌌)

    Pronunciation 3Edit

    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
    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
    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/
    DefinitionsEdit

    上

    1. (～聲) (Chinese phonetics) rising tone in Chinese phonetics

    CompoundsEdit

    Derived terms from 上

    DescendantsEdit

    Sino-Xenic (上):
    • → Japanese: 上 (じょう) (jō)
    • → Korean: 상 (上, sang)
    • → Vietnamese: thượng (上)

    Etymology 2Edit

    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 3Edit

    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 readingEdit

    JapaneseEdit

    KanjiEdit

    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

    ReadingsEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    Compounds

    Etymology 1Edit

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

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

    From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *upay.

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

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    上 (hiragana うえ, rōmaji ue, historical hiragana うへ)

    1. the above
    2. the top (position or direction)
    3. the surface of
    AntonymsEdit
    Derived termsEdit
    Derived terms
    IdiomsEdit
    Idioms

    SuffixEdit

    上 (hiragana うえ, rōmaji -ue, historical hiragana うへ)

    1. suffix addressing to a superior
    Derived termsEdit
    Derived terms

    Proper nounEdit

    上 (hiragana うえ, rōmaji Ue, historical hiragana うへ)

    1. a surname

    Etymology 2Edit

    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]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    上 (hiragana うわ, rōmaji uwa, historical hiragana うは)

    1. upper, over
    Derived termsEdit
    Derived terms

    Proper nounEdit

    上 (hiragana うわ, rōmaji Uwa, historical hiragana うは)

    1. a place name

    Etymology 3Edit

    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.

    PronunciationEdit

    • (Irregular reading)
    Usage notesEdit

    The senses are the same with ue.

    Derived termsEdit

    Etymology 4Edit

    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”).

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    上 (hiragana かみ, rōmaji kami)

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

    Proper nounEdit

    上 (hiragana かみ, rōmaji Kami)

    1. a place name
    2. a surname

    Etymology 5Edit

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

    /kami/ → /kamʉ/ → /kaɴ/

    Contraction of Old Japanese ⟨kami1⟩. Spelled in ancient works as かむ (kamu) prior to the development of the ん (n) kana.[1][4][5]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    上 (hiragana かん, rōmaji kan)

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

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

    Derived termsEdit
    Derived terms

    Proper nounEdit

    上 (hiragana かん, rōmaji Kan)

    1. a place name

    Etymology 6Edit

    Kanji in this term
    上
    じょう
    Grade: 1
    goon

    /d͡ʑɨau/ → /d͡ʑɔː/ → /d͡ʑoː/

    From Middle Chinese 上 (MC d͡ʑɨɐŋX, d͡ʑɨɐŋH).

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    上 (hiragana じょう, rōmaji jō, historical hiragana じやう)

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

    SuffixEdit

    上 (hiragana じょう, rōmaji -jō, historical hiragana じやう)

    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 (ちょう)
      hōritsu-jō no sōchō
      legal dispute
    2. aboard (a plane, ship, etc.)
    3. above, in, on
    Derived termsEdit
    Derived terms

    Proper nounEdit

    上 (hiragana じょう, rōmaji Jō, historical hiragana じやう)

    1. a surname

    ReferencesEdit

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 1974, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Second Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 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. ↑ 4.0 4.1 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

    KoreanEdit

    HanjaEdit

    上 (eumhun 윗 상 (wit sang))

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

    CompoundsEdit

    VietnameseEdit

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