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上楼 (shàng lóu) — to go upstairs

Definition

A common verb-object phrase meaning 'to go upstairs.' Often contrasts in context with 下楼 ('to go downstairs'); the direction is fixed by 上, not by the subject's motion.

verb
to go upstairs

Examples

  • 上楼，。
    shàng lóu Ba, wǒ de fáng jiān zài sān lóu.
    Let's go upstairs — my room is on the third floor.
  • 。
    Tā shàng le yī céng lóu jiù tíng le xià lái.
    He went up one floor and then stopped.
  • 上楼。
    Tā tí zhe xíng li màn màn shàng lóu.
    She carried her luggage and slowly went upstairs.

Origin

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
楼lóubuilding

上 means go up and 楼 means building, so 上楼 is to go up into a building.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu樓lóu
Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

Open 楼 →
Appears in
Daily Routine

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