Meaning of 上台
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to rise to power (in politics)
- to go on stage (in the theater)
How to use 上台
上台 is used for performers, speakers, or award winners walking onto a stage, and also for a leader or party taking power. Example: 请下一位同学上台发言。(Qǐng xià yí wèi tóngxué shàngtái fāyán.) Please have the next student come up on stage to speak.
上 (shàng) means to go up, and 台 (tái) is a platform or stage. To 上台 is literally to step up onto the stage, whether that stage is in a theater or in government.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 上台 for getting on a bus or train, but that is 上车 (shàng chē). Also keep 台 (tái) in the second tone and do not confuse it with 抬 (tái, to lift), which has the hand radical 扌.
上台 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
台 tái · you · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 上台.
| 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 上台
What does 上台 mean?
上台 (shàngtái) means "to rise to power (in politics); to go on stage (in the theater)".
How do you write 上台?
上台 is made of 2 characters: 上 (3 strokes), 台 (5 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 上台 an HSK word?
Yes. 上台 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 上台?
The opposite is 下台 (xiàtái). It means to step down from the stage, and in politics it means to leave office or fall from power, often not by choice.
Can 上台 take an object directly?
Usually no. You say 他上台了 (tā shàngtái le) or 上台表演 (shàngtái biǎoyǎn, go on stage to perform), adding a second verb for the purpose instead of an object.