马上 meaning in English

mǎshàng

at once; right away

HSK 1adverbTraditional 馬上6 strokes

Meaning of 马上

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

mǎshàng

at once
right away
immediately
on horseback (i.e. by military force)

How to use 马上

马上 goes before the verb to say something will happen very soon or right now. It often pairs with 就 or 了 at the end of the sentence. Example: 我马上就来。(Wǒ mǎshàng jiù lái.) I'm coming right away.

马上 is literally 马 (mǎ, horse) plus 上 (shàng, on top). Picture someone who is already up on the horse, ready to ride off at once.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes put 马上 after the verb, as in 我来马上. It must come before the verb: 我马上来. Also keep the third tone on 马 (mǎ). Saying mā or mà sounds like different words.

马上 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ马mǎ上shàng就jiù认rèn出chū了le他tā。

I recognized him instantly.

我wǒ一yí定dìng要yào马mǎ上shàng去qù吗ma？

Must I go there at once?

马mǎ上shàng出chū发fā，不bù然rán你nǐ就jiù要yào错cuò过guò公gōng车chē了le。

Start at once, or you will miss the bus.

她tā马mǎ上shàng离lí开kāi了le这zhè里lǐ。

She left here right away.

你nǐ没méi必bì要yào马mǎ上shàng去qù做zuò。

You need not do it at once.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

马 mǎ · horse · 3 strokes

上 shàng · up · 3 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 马上.

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
上课	shàngkè	to go to class; to attend class

Questions about 马上

What does 马上 mean?

马上 (mǎshàng) means "at once; right away" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 马上?

马上 is made of 2 characters: 马 (3 strokes), 上 (3 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 马上 an HSK word?

Yes. 马上 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 马上 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 马上 is written 馬上.

What is the difference between 马上 and 立刻?

Both mean immediately. 立刻 (lìkè) is a bit more formal and stresses no delay at all. 马上 is more casual and can mean soon, not only this second, as in 马上就要过年了 (the New Year is coming soon).

Does 马上 still mean on horseback?

Yes, but mostly in literary or historical contexts, such as talk of winning power by military force. In everyday speech, people almost always mean right away.