上

Above, Up, Over

Level 1

How this kanji evolved

Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.

The character 上 depicts the concept of 'above' or 'upper' through a simple but brilliant visual representation. In its earliest oracle bone script forms, it showed a short line above a longer line, literally indicating something positioned on top. This evolved through bronze script where the upper stroke became more curved, and eventually standardized in seal script as the modern form. The character fundamentally means 'up,' 'above,' 'upper,' or 'to ascend,' and is used in countless compounds and expressions. Its opposite is 下 (below), which uses the same concept but reverses the position of the strokes. Arrived in Japan: The character 上 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system to Japan. It was part of the initial wave of Chinese characters adopted for writing classical Chinese texts (kanbun) and later adapted for writing Japanese. The character maintains the same core meaning in Japanese as in Chinese, representing concepts of upward direction, superiority, and elevation.

Reading reference

Onyomi (音読み)

ジョウ

Kunyomi (訓読み)

うえあのぼうわかみ

Related Vocabulary

not less than ..., ... and over, ... and above, ... and upwards, ... or more, beyond (e.g. one's expectations), above, more than, further than, the above, the above-mentioned, the aforementioned

差し上げる

to lift up, to hold up, to raise, to give, to present, to offer, to do (for someone)

出来上がる

to be completed, to be finished, to be ready (e.g. to serve or eat), to be very drunk, to get plastered

召し上がる

to eat, to drink

above, over, up, top, summit, upper part, head (e.g. of a staircase), surface, on (top of), the above (in a piece of writing), earlier part, superior

to rise, to go up, to come up, to ascend, to be raised, to enter (esp. from outdoors), to come in, to go in, to enter (a school), to advance to the next grade, to get out (of water), to come ashore

to raise, to elevate, to move something (to a higher place), to put onto (e.g. a shelf), to increase (price, quality, status, etc.), to raise (a wage), to show someone (into a room), to let in (e.g. a guest), to give, to enrol (one's child in school), to enroll, to send (one's child; e.g. to college)

to ascend, to go up, to climb, to ascend (as a natural process, e.g. the Sun), to rise, to go to (the capital), to add up to, to advance (in price), to swim up (a river), to sail up, to come up (on the agenda)