King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “superstructure”

上层建筑
shàng céng jiàn zhù
Traditional: 上層建築
superstructure

The closest CC-CEDICT match for superstructure is 上层建筑 (shàng céng jiàn zhù), defined as: superstructure.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

上 shàng
above, on top, superior; to go up; to attend; previous
radical 1 ⼀ · 3 strokes
层 céng
layer, floor, story, stratum
radical 44 ⼫ · 7 strokes
建 jiàn
to build, to erect; to establish, to found
radical 54 ⼵ · 9 strokes
筑 zhù
building; a five-string lute
radical 118 ⽵ · 12 strokes

Traditional forms

Related words

Other words that share a character with 上层建筑.

WordPinyinMeaning
以上yǐ shàngthat level or higher; that amount or more; the above-mentioned
晚上wǎn shangevening; night
身上shēn shangon the body; at hand
加上jiā shàngto add; plus; in addition; moreover
上面shàng miànon top of; above-mentioned
实际上 (實際上)shí jì shàngin fact; in reality
基层 (基層)jī céngbasic level; grassroots unit
层面 (層面)céng miànaspect; facet; level (political, psychological, spiritual etc)
建设 (建設)jiàn shèto build; to construct; to establish; to develop; to institute
建筑 (建築)jiàn zhùto construct; building

See also: Japanese symbol for “superstructure”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.