Meaning of 地上
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- on the ground
- on the floor
How to use 地上
地上 is used for things lying on the floor or the ground, indoors or outdoors. It often follows 在 (zài) or comes after a verb like 放 (fàng) or 掉 (diào). Example: 你的书掉在地上了。(Nǐ de shū diào zài dìshang le.) Your book fell on the floor.
地 (dì) means ground or earth, and 上 (shang) means on or above. Put them together and you get "on the ground," the place where things land when you drop them.
Common mistake: Learners often read 上 here with a full fourth tone, but in 地上 it is usually light and neutral: dìshang, like 晚上 (wǎnshang) and 身上 (shēnshang). Also do not confuse 地上 with 地方 (dìfang), which means a place, not the floor.
地上 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.
地 de · -ly · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
上 shàng · up · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 地上.
| 地方 | dìfang | region; regional (away from the central administration) |
| 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) |
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; site |
| 楼上 | lóu shàng | upstairs; (Internet slang) previous poster in a forum thread |
| 车上 | chē shang |
Questions about 地上
What does 地上 mean?
地上 (dìshang) means "on the ground; on the floor".
How do you write 地上?
地上 is made of 2 characters: 地 (6 strokes), 上 (3 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 地上 an HSK word?
Yes. 地上 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 地上 and 地下?
地上 means on the surface of the ground or floor. 地下 (dìxià) means underground, as in 地下室 (dìxiàshì) basement. In casual speech some people also say 地下 for the floor, but 地上 is the standard choice for learners.
Can I use 地上 for "on Earth" or "on the planet"?
Not usually. For the planet Earth, Chinese uses 地球上 (dìqiú shang). 地上 refers to the ground or floor right around you.