(shàng xué) - to go to school, to attend school in Mandarin
shàngxuéTraditional: 上學
Translation
to go to school, to attend school
Word origin
A compound of 上 (shàng, to go up, to attend) and 学 (xué, study, school), matching 上班 for work.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 上 (shàng, to attend) + 学 (xué, study, school)
Stroke order
上
学
Examples
。
The children go to school at eight.
。
I don't want to go to school today.
。
He cycles to school every day.
，？
It's raining, how are you getting to school?
。
My little sister starts school next year.
上学 (shàng xué) is the daily routine of attending school, the exact counterpart of 上班 (shàng bān, to go to work). Both use 上 in its "turn up and do your session" sense.
It is a verb-object compound, which means the two halves can be split by anything that would normally follow a verb: 上过学 (has been to school), 上了三年学 (attended for three years). You cannot put an object after it, so "attend that school" is 在那所学校上学, never 上学那所学校.
For starting school for the first time, 上学 works, but 上小学 (start primary school) or 入学 (enrol) is more precise. Its opposite in the daily sense is 放学 (fàng xué, school finishes).
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(1)Grammar articles
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上学: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "上学" (to go to school, to attend school): 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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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 41.