Meaning of 天上
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the sky; the heavens
How to use 天上
天上 is used for things located in or happening in the sky, often with 在 or as a phrase before a noun with 的. It also appears in poetic or religious talk about the heavens. Example: 天上有很多星星。(Tiānshàng yǒu hěn duō xīngxing.) There are many stars in the sky.
天 (tiān) means sky, and 上 (shàng) means up or on. Put them together and you get "up in the sky," the place above your head where birds, clouds, and stars are.
Common mistake: Learners often write 在天 or just 天 when they mean "in the sky," but Chinese needs the location word 上, so say 在天上 (zài tiānshàng). Also keep the full fourth tone on 上 here, unlike 晚上 (wǎnshang) and 早上 (zǎoshang), where it is usually neutral.
天上 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.
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
上 shàng · up · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 天上.
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 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 |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 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 |
Questions about 天上
What does 天上 mean?
天上 (tiānshàng) means "the sky; the heavens" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 天上?
天上 is made of 2 characters: 天 (4 strokes), 上 (3 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 天上 an HSK word?
Yes. 天上 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 天上 and 天空?
天空 (tiānkōng) is a more formal or descriptive noun for the sky itself, like "the blue sky." 天上 focuses on location, meaning "up in the sky," so it is common when saying what is there, as in 天上有鸟 (Tiānshàng yǒu niǎo), there are birds in the sky.
Is 天上 related to 今天 and 明天?
They share 天, which can mean both sky and day. In 今天 (jīntiān) and 明天 (míngtiān), 天 means day, while in 天上 it means sky, so read the context to know which sense is used.