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向上

Mandarin · pinyin xiàng shàng

upward
up
to advance
to try to improve oneself
to make progress

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Characters in this entry

向: xiàng · toward, direction, trend
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · xiang4 shang4

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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 · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

to go forward; to advance
to try to improve oneself; to make progress

adv

upward; up

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

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