TongTong
Sign in

地上 (dì shang) — on the ground; on the floor; (literary) above the ground; earthly (as opposed to heavenly)

Definition

地上 means 'on the ground / on the floor' for things resting on a surface. In literary or contrastive use (as in 天上 and 地上), it means 'on earth' as opposed to 'in the heavens'.

noun
on the groundon the floor(literary) above the groundearthly (as opposed to heavenly)

Examples

  • ，地上。
    Xiǎo xīn, bié bǎ bēi zi diào zài dì shang.
    Be careful, don't drop the cup on the ground.
  • 地上。
    Māo xǐ huan pā zài dì shang shài tài yáng.
    The cat likes to lie on the floor and bask in the sun.
  • 地上。
    Tiān shàng hé dì shang de fēng jǐng wán quán bù tóng.
    The scenery in the sky and on earth are completely different.

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.

地dìground
上shàngabove

地 with 上 means on or above the ground.

Characters in this word

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.