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上下

Mandarin · pinyin shàng xià

Meanings

  1. the top and bottom of sth
  2. the full vertical extent of sth; from top to bottom
  3. to go up and down
  4. before and after (as in 上下文 shàng xià wén "context")
  5. (used after a quantity) approximately; ... or so
  6. (in a social hierarchy) the high and the low; seniors and juniors (as in 上下和睦 shàng xià hé mù "harmony between superiors and subordinates")
  7. all members of a group (as in 舉國上下 jǔ guó shàng xià "the entire nation")
  8. relative superiority (as in 不相上下 bù xiāng shàng xià "evenly matched")
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Characters in this entry

上
shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
下
xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 上下 ↗Words written with 上 ↗Words written with 下 ↗

Mandarin tones

4–4 · shang4 xia4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 10 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

soeng6 haa6

Cantonese word readings for 上下. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun · Etymology 1

  1. high and low
  2. from top to bottom
  3. up and down
  4. old and young
  5. relative superiority or inferiority

noun · Etymology 2

  1. (after round numbers) thereabouts; neighbourhood; about; or so

adv · Etymology 2

  1. (Cantonese) almost; about to

verb · Etymology 3

  1. to go up and down
  2. (Meixian Hakka) to have contact with; to have dealings with
  3. (Taiwanese Hakka) to pass by

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

上下 · shang4 xia4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 1,583
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record上下 上下 [shang4 xia4] /the top and bottom of sth/the full vertical extent of sth; from top to bottom/to go up and down/before and after (as in 上下文[shang4 xia4 wen2] "context")/(used after a quantity) approximately; ... or so/(in a social hierarchy) the high and the low; seniors and juniors (as in 上下和睦[shang4 xia4 he2 mu4] "harmony between superiors and subordinates")/all members of a group (as in 舉國上下|举国上下[ju3 guo2 shang4 xia4] "the entire nation")/relative superiority (as in 不相上下[bu4 xiang1 shang4 xia4] "evenly matched")/