上午
morning (before noon)
shàngwǔ
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 breakdown
upper; above; previous
noon; midday
Memory hook: 'Upper-noon' — the upper half of the day, before the sun hits its peak (noon).
Measure word for 上午
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
Synonyms
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
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 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 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.