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过上 (guò shàng) — to start living (a certain kind of life); to spend (a holiday, a day) in a certain way

Definition

过上 takes a noun like 好日子 or 新生活 after it to mean starting to live that kind of life. Pinyin here is guò (not guō) — 上 is a directional complement, not a separate word.

verb
to start living (a certain kind of life)to spend (a holiday, a day) in a certain way

Examples

  • 过上。
    Tā zhōng yú guò shàng le hǎo rì zi.
    He finally started living a good life.
  • 过上。
    Wǒ men xiǎng guò shàng yí gè kuài lè de chūn jié.
    We want to have a happy Spring Festival.
  • 过上。
    Hěn duō rén xī wàng guò shàng píng jìng de shēng huó.
    Many people hope to live a peaceful life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

过guòlive
上shàngstart

过 names living, and 上 names the start of that life.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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
Daily Routine

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