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
上流
shàng liú
upper class
占上风
zhàn shàng fēng
to take the lead
太上皇
tài shàng huáng
father of the reigning emperor
上首
shàng shǒu
seat of honor
带上
dài shàng
to take along with one
上代
shàng dài
previous generation
上坡
shàng pō
uphill
上钩
shàng gōu
to take the bait
之上
zhī shàng
above
上弦
shàng xián
to wind up a watch, clockwork toy etc
上边
shàng bian
the top
火上浇油
huǒ shàng jiāo yóu
to pour oil on the fire (idiom); fig. to aggravate a situation