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HSK 1

上午

morning (before noon)

nounneutral
上
shàng4th tone
午
wǔ3rd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
shàngwǔ
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
7
Register
neutral
Measure word
个

Stroke order for 上午

上午 is written with 7 strokes (上: 3, 午: 4). The animation replays automatically.

What does 上午 mean?

上午 (shàngwǔ) is the Chinese word for 'morning' — specifically, the late-morning block from roughly 9 a.m.

to noon. Chinese divides the day into more precise blocks than English: 早上 (zǎoshang) is early morning (sunrise–9 a.m. ish), 上午 is mid-to-late morning, 中午 (zhōngwǔ) is noon / midday, 下午 (xiàwǔ) is afternoon, and 晚上 (wǎnshang) is evening / night.

The literal meaning of 上午 is 'upper half of 午' — 午 means noon, so 上午 is the half before noon. As a time-word, 上午 functions as a noun and usually goes BEFORE the verb in a sentence: 我上午有课 ('I have class in the morning'), not 我有课上午. For scheduling and formal contexts (timetables, news, work emails), 上午 is the standard; for casual conversation about waking up or breakfast, 早上 is more natural.

Character by character

上shàngupper; above; previous
+
午wǔnoon; midday
=
上午

Memory hook: 'Upper-noon' — the upper half of the day, before the sun hits its peak (noon).

Example sentences

我上午有课。

Wǒ shàngwǔ yǒu kè.

I have class in the morning.

neutral

明天上午我去医院。

Míngtiān shàngwǔ wǒ qù yīyuàn.

I'm going to the hospital tomorrow morning.

neutral

上午十点开会。

Shàngwǔ shí diǎn kāihuì.

The meeting is at 10 a.m.

neutral

今天上午下雨了。

Jīntiān shàngwǔ xià yǔ le.

It rained this morning.

neutral

Common phrases with 上午

上午好shàngwǔ hǎogood morning (less common than 早上好)
今天上午jīntiān shàngwǔthis morning
明天上午míngtiān shàngwǔtomorrow morning
上午十点shàngwǔ shí diǎn10 a.m.
上午有课shàngwǔ yǒu kèhave class in the morning

Synonyms

早上zǎoshang

早上 is 'early morning' — sunrise to about 9 a.m. — and is the time you say 早上好 ('good morning') and eat 早饭. 上午 is the later morning block (9 a.m. to noon). For scheduling, 上午 is more precise; for greetings, 早上 is the natural pick.

Don't confuse 上午 with

下午xiàwǔ

上午 = before noon (morning). 下午 = after noon (afternoon). Same 午 ('noon') character, opposite halves. The 上 / 下 pairing means 'upper/lower' or 'before/after.'

中午zhōngwǔ

中午 means 'noon / midday' — roughly 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the lunch hour. 上午 ends right where 中午 begins. Don't say 上午十二点; say 中午十二点 for noon.

早上zǎoshang

早上 is early morning (waking up, breakfast). 上午 is mid-late morning (work, classes). Beginners often default to 早上 for any morning time — fine in casual speech, less precise for schedules.

FAQ

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