上限 (shàng xiàn) — upper limit, cap, ceiling | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/mathematical 'upper limit' (e.g., price cap, ceiling value). Distinct from 天花板, which often refers to a figurative ceiling or the best level in a field; 极限 is the absolute boundary or extreme.

noun

upper limitcapceiling

Examples

上限。
Zhè zhāng xìn yòng kǎ de shàng xiàn shì yí wàn yuán.
The upper limit of this credit card is 10,000 yuan.
上限。
Zhè ge shí yàn de wēn dù shàng xiàn shì wǔ shí dù.
The temperature upper limit for this experiment is 50 degrees.
上限。
Bào míng rén shù méi yǒu shàng xiàn.
There is no upper limit on the number of registrations.

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.

The upper sense of 上 with 限 as a limit gives a ceiling or highest point.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⻖Written in full as阜fùmound

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn限xiàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

限 pairs ⻖ (mound, written 阜) with 艮 as a sound part; the mound side gives the sense of a boundary or limit.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Abstract Concepts

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