TongTong
Sign in

上面 (shàng miàn) — on top of; above; above-mentioned; previous (in a text)

Definition

上面 means 'on top of / above' for physical location, and 'the above' for referring back to earlier text. Use 上 when you mean direction or the act of going up; 上面 is specifically a position. For 'the aforementioned,' 以上 is more formal than 上面.

noun
on top ofaboveabove-mentionedprevious (in a text)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 上面。
    Bēi zi zài zhuō zi shàng miàn.
    The cup is on the table.
  • 上面。
    shàng miàn De wèn tí wǒ yǐ jīng huí dá le.
    I have already answered the above question.
  • 上面？
    shàng miàn De huà nǐ dǒng le ma?
    Do you understand the above words?

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shàngabove
面miànsurface

上 points to the higher place and 面 gives the surface, so 上面 means the surface above something.

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.

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 21000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsDirections2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 2 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.