上溯 (shàng sù) — to sail upstream; to trace back to (historical origins, tradition, ancestor)

Definition

Literary verb meaning 'to trace back to' (an origin, tradition, or historical source) — the abstract figurative sense, not just literal sailing upstream.

verb
to sail upstreamto trace back to (historical origins, tradition, ancestor)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 溯。
    Xiǎo chuán zài jiāng shàng nì shuǐ shàng sù.
    The small boat sailed upstream against the current on the river.
  • 上溯。
    Zhè ge xí sú kě yǐ shàng sù dào táng dài.
    This custom can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty.
  • 上溯。
    Tā huā le duō nián shí jiān shàng sù jiā zú lì shǐ.
    He spent many years tracing back his family history.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

上shàngupstream
溯sùtrace

上溯 combines 上 upstream and 溯 trace, giving the sense of tracing back to an earlier source.

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.

Open 上 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
朔
朔shuò溯
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

溯 has 氵 (water) on the left and 朔 on the right; 朔 gives the sound.

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