Meaning of 上个月
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- last month
How to use 上个月
上个月 is a time word meaning last month. It usually goes at the start of the sentence or right after the subject. Example: 我上个月去了北京。 (Wǒ shàng ge yuè qù le Běijīng.) I went to Beijing last month.
上 (shàng) means up or above, so picture a calendar where the earlier page sits above the current one. Go up one 个 (ge) 月 (yuè), one month, and you land on last month.
Common mistake: Learners often say 上月 in speech or drop 个 by mistake. 上月 does exist but sounds formal or written, so in conversation say 上个月. Another trap is saying 上个年 for last year, which is wrong. Last year is 去年 (qùnián).
上个月 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
上 shàng · up · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
个 gè · classifier used before a noun that has … · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
月 yuè · moon · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 上个月.
| 马上 | mǎshàng | at once; right away |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening; night |
| 身上 | shēnshang | on the body; at hand |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning |
| 上次 | shàng cì | last time |
| 路上 | lùshang | on the road; on the way; en route |
| 上班 | shàngbān | to go to work; to be on duty |
| 上车 | shàng chē | to get on or into (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 地上 | dìshang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 楼上 | lóu shàng | upstairs; (Internet slang) previous poster in a forum thread |
| 车上 | chē shang | |
| 上学 | shàngxué | to go to school; to attend school |
Questions about 上个月
What does 上个月 mean?
上个月 (shàng ge yuè) means "last month".
How do you write 上个月?
上个月 is made of 3 characters: 上 (3 strokes), 个 (3 strokes), 月 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 上个月 an HSK word?
Yes. 上个月 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 上个月 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 上个月 is written 上個月.
How do I say next month and this month?
Next month is 下个月 (xià ge yuè) and this month is 这个月 (zhè ge yuè). The same pattern works for weeks: 上个星期, 这个星期, 下个星期.
Why is 个 in 上个月 pronounced without a tone?
个 is normally gè, but as a measure word in quick speech it is usually read in the neutral tone, so you hear shàng ge yuè. Saying shàng gè yuè with a full fourth tone is also understood.