晚上

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 晚上 (wǎnshàng) is composed of two characters: 晚 (wǎn) and 上 (shàng). The character 晚 originally meant "late" or "evening", and it is composed of the radical 日 (rì) for "sun" and the phonetic component 歹 (dǎi). The character 上 originally meant "to ascend" or "to go up", and it is composed of the radical 人 (rén) for "person" and the phonetic component 尚 (shàng).When combined, the characters 晚 and 上 form the word 晚上, which literally means "late evening" or "night". In modern Chinese, 晚上 is used to refer to the time period from sunset to midnight. It can also be used to refer to the evening in general, as in the phrase 晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo), which means "good evening".The word 晚上 is a common word in Chinese, and it is used in a variety of contexts. It is an important word for HSK learners to know, as it is used to talk about time and to make plans.