上
shàng
(bound form) up; upper; above; previous
first (of multiple parts); to climb; to get onto; to go up; to attend (class or university); (directional complement) up; (noun suffix) on; above
a picture of 上 → a mark rising above a baseline
上 is better understood as a pictograph: a short stroke sitting above a baseline, visually depicting something positioned higher. The component analysis is a later rationalization; the original oracle bone form simply showed a mark above a line.
我每天上班都坐地铁。
wǒ měi tiān shàng bān dōu zuò dì tiě。
I ride the subway to work every day.
他爬上了那棵大树。
tā pá shàng le nà kē dà shù。
He climbed up that big tree.
Words with 上
之上
zhī shàng
above
自上而下
zì shàng ér xià
(idiom) from top to bottom; top-down
逼上梁山
bī shàng liáng shān
driven to join the Liangshan Mountain rebels
遇上
yù shàng
to come across (sb)
铆上
mǎo shàng
to go all out
锦上添花
jǐn shàng tiān huā
lit. add flowers to brocade (idiom)
镀上
dù shàng
to plate (with gold, silver etc)
锁上
suǒ shàng
to lock
闭上
bì shang
to close
闭上嘴巴
bì shang zuǐ bā
Shut up!
关上
guān shàng
to close (a door)
附上
fù shàng
attached