Chinese symbol for “top”
上头
shàng tou
Traditional: 上頭
the top; the upper part; (its) surface; the authorities; those in charge; the higher-ups
The closest CC-CEDICT match for top is 上头 (shàng tou), defined as: the top; the upper part; (its) surface; the authorities; those in charge; the higher-ups.
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
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “top”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上边 (上邊) | shàng bian | the top; above |
| 前 | qián | front; forward |
| 颠 (顛) | diān | top (of the head); apex |
| 面 | miàn | face; side |
| 头 (頭) | tóu | head; hair style |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 上头.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 以上 | yǐ shàng | that level or higher; that amount or more; the above-mentioned |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | evening; night |
| 身上 | shēn shang | on the body; at hand |
| 加上 | jiā shàng | to add; plus; in addition; moreover |
| 上面 | shàng miàn | on top of; above-mentioned |
| 实际上 (實際上) | shí jì shàng | in fact; in reality |
| 头发 (頭髮) | tóu fa | hair (on the head) |
| 街头 (街頭) | jiē tóu | street |
See also: Japanese symbol for “top”.
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.