上期 (shàng qī) — previous period (week, month, quarter, etc.)

Definition

adjective

previous period (week, month, quarter, etc.)

Easily confused

上期。
shàng qī De xiāo shòu é bǐ zhè ge yuè gāo hěn duō.
Sales in the previous period were much higher than this month.
上期。
Qǐng bǎ shàng qī de bào biǎo jiāo gěi wǒ.
Please submit the report from the previous period to me.
上期。
shàng qī Wǒ men wán chéng le liǎng gè xiàng mù.
During the previous period, we completed two projects.

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 means previous or last, and 期 means period; together they refer to the previous week, month, or quarter.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.