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上调 (shàng tiáo) — to raise (prices, wages, rates, etc.); to adjust upwards

Definition

上调 means an official body raises a set price, wage, or rate upward. Used for policy-driven adjustments — unlike 上涨 or 涨价, which describe prices going up on their own.

verb
to raise (prices, wages, rates, etc.)to adjust upwards
Easily confused

Examples

  • 上调。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng shàng tiáo qì yóu jià gé.
    The government decided to raise gasoline prices.
  • 上调。
    Gōng sī měi nián dōu huì shàng tiáo yuán gōng gōng zī.
    The company raises employee wages every year.
  • ，上调。
    Wèi le yìng duì tōng huò péng zhàng, yāng háng shàng tiáo le jī zhǔn lì lǜ.
    To cope with inflation, the central bank raised the benchmark interest rate.

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shàngupward
调tiáoadjust

上 (upward) and 调 (adjust) together mean to adjust upward.

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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