Meaning of 上来
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to come up
- to approach
- (verb complement indicating success)
How to use 上来
上来 is used when something moves upward toward the speaker, like coming upstairs or out of water. As a complement after a verb it shows upward movement or success, as in 答上来 (dá shànglái, to manage to answer). Example: 你上来吧。(Nǐ shànglái ba.) Come on up.
上 (shàng) means up and 来 (lái) means come, so 上来 is simply "come up" toward where the speaker is. Picture someone climbing the stairs to reach you.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 上来 and 上去 (shàngqù). 来 means movement toward the speaker and 去 means movement away, so if you are downstairs telling someone to go up, say 上去, not 上来.
上来 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
来 lái · to come · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 上来.
| 回来 | huílái | to return; to come back |
| 起来 | qǐlái | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 出来 | chūlái | to come out; to appear |
| 马上 | mǎshàng | at once; right away |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening; night |
| 进来 | jìnlái | to come in |
| 身上 | shēnshang | on the body; at hand |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning |
| 来到 | láidào | to arrive; to come |
| 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 |
Questions about 上来
What does 上来 mean?
上来 (shànglái) means "to come up; to approach".
How do you write 上来?
上来 is made of 2 characters: 上 (3 strokes), 来 (7 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 上来 an HSK word?
Yes. 上来 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 上来 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 上来 is written 上來.
How is 上来 pronounced in a sentence?
After a verb, as in 拿上来 (ná shanglai), both syllables are often said lightly with a neutral tone. On its own as the main verb, it is usually shànglái.
Where does the object go with 上来?
A place word goes between 上 and 来, as in 上楼来 (shàng lóu lái, come upstairs). With a verb plus complement, a thing can go before 来 or after the whole phrase, as in 拿上一杯水来 or 拿上来一杯水.