上天 (shàng tiān) — to go up to the sky; (euphemism) to die, to pass away
Definition
上天 is a verb meaning 'to go up to the sky' literally (rockets, planes, spaceflight) and is also used euphemistically to mean 'to die / pass away'. Example 2 shows the euphemistic sense used to soften talk of death.
verb
to go up to the sky(euphemism) to dieto pass away
Examples
- 上天,。Huǒ jiàn shàng tiān le, dà jiā dōu huān hū qǐ lái.The rocket went up to the sky, and everyone cheered.
- 上天,。Lǎo rén yǐ jīng shàng tiān le, qǐng jié āi.The elderly person has passed away, please accept my condolences.
- 。Tā zhè bèi zi zhī shàng guò yí cì tiān.In his whole life, he has only gone up to the sky once.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.