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上午 (shàng wǔ) — morning

Definition

上午 is 'morning' as a time-of-day noun, roughly before noon — the standard, neutral word. Pairs with 中午 (noon) and 下午 (afternoon); 早上 / 早晨 lean toward early morning.

noun
morning
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 上午。
    Wǒ shàng wǔ zài jiā kàn shū.
    I stay at home and read in the morning.
  • 上午。
    shàng wǔ Tā hē shuǐ.
    He drinks water in the morning.
  • 上午。
    shàng wǔ Wǒ men dōu hěn máng.
    We are all busy in the morning.

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shàngearlier/before
午wǔnoon

Earlier or before plus noon gives the time period before midday.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 午 comes from a drawing of a pestle, a heavy tool used for pounding.

Open 午 →
Appears in
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