上学 (shàng xué) — to go to school, to attend school

Definition

上学 means going to school every day as a student (the daily routine). For 'attend class' right now, use 上课; for the act of learning, use 学习.

verb

to go to schoolto attend school

上学。
Tā měi tiān shàng xué.
He goes to school every day.
上学，。
Wǒ jīn tiān bú shàng xué, wǒ zài jiā.
I'm not going to school today; I'm at home.
。
Tā shàng le yí cì xué.
He attended school once.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shànggo up/enter

Going up or entering combines with school to mean attend school.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Appears in