Meaning of 身上
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- on the body
- at hand
- among
How to use 身上
身上 is used for things you carry or wear, and for qualities or problems found in a person. It often follows a person: 他身上 (on him), 我身上 (on me). Example: 我身上没有钱。 (Wǒ shēnshang méiyǒu qián.) I don't have any money on me.
身 (shēn) means body and 上 (shàng) means on, so 身上 is simply "on the body." Picture checking your pockets to see what you have on you.
Common mistake: Learners often say 在身体上 when they mean "on me" for carried items, but 身体 (shēntǐ) is about the body as an organism or one's health, so use 身上 for wallets, phones and clothes. Also, 上 here is usually light and toneless (shēnshang), not a full fourth tone.
身上 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.
身 shēn · body · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
上 shàng · up · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 身上.
| 马上 | mǎshàng | at once; right away |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening; night |
| 身体 | shēntǐ | the body; one's health |
| 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 身上
What does 身上 mean?
身上 (shēnshang) means "on the body; at hand" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 身上?
身上 is made of 2 characters: 身 (7 strokes), 上 (3 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 身上 an HSK word?
Yes. 身上 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 身上 describe personality or qualities?
Yes. 在他身上 can mean "in him" or "about him," as in 他身上有很多优点 (Tā shēnshang yǒu hěn duō yōudiǎn), He has many good qualities. It can also describe where responsibility falls, like 责任在我身上, The responsibility is on me.
How do I say I have something with me using 身上?
Use 身上带着 or 身上有 plus the item. For example, 你身上带着手机吗? (Nǐ shēnshang dàizhe shǒujī ma?) means Do you have your phone on you?