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马上 (mǎ shàng) — immediately, right away, at once

Definition

马上 (mǎshàng) means 'right away, in a moment' — a common, everyday adverb. It's a touch less abrupt than 立刻 and more immediate than the noun 当下 ('at this very moment').

adverb
immediatelyright awayat once

Examples

  • 马上。
    Qǐng mǎ shàng bǎ zuò yè jiāo shàng lái.
    Please hand in your homework immediately.
  • 马上。
    Wǒ mǎ shàng jiù qù mǎi chī de.
    I'll go buy food right away.
  • 马上。
    Lǎo shī mǎ shàng jiù dào le.
    The teacher will arrive very soon.

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.

马mǎhorse
上shàngon

From 马 meaning horse and 上 meaning on, the form suggests on horseback, hence immediately.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 3500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsTime (Abstract)2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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