Kilo Lingo

(mǎ shàng) - immediately, right away, at once in Mandarin

shàng

Traditional: 馬上

Line drawing of 马上
Coloured illustration of 马上
HSK 3
#305 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

immediately, right away, at once

Word origin

马上 (mǎshàng) 'immediately' literally means 'on (a) horse' (马 horse + 上 on top), the idea being that something done while still mounted, ready to ride off, happens at once. 马 is a pictograph of a horse and 上 is a simple indicative for 'up, on'.

Origin
compound
Root
马 (horse) + 上 (on top, up)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 马

Stroke order for 上

Examples

I'll be right there.

He came back immediately.

Set off right away.

I will be right back.

Please come over right away.

马上 (mǎ shàng) - immediately, right away, at once.

Where this fits

Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

马上: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "马上" (immediately, right away, at once): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 7.