上周
shàng zhoū · HSK 2
last week
📅 上周 = 上 (previous/above) + 周 (week)
上 means 'previous' or 'last' when paired with time words (上月 last month, 上次 last time). 周 means 'week'. So 上周 literally reads as 'previous week' = last week.
上 — horizontal line above a baseline
上 is an indicative character (指事): a short stroke placed above a longer reference line shows the concept of 'above' or 'up'. The earliest oracle-bone forms used two horizontal lines for this; the modern shape added a vertical stroke for clarity. The core meaning of 'upper, above, to ascend' has stayed stable for millennia.
周 — enclosure 囗 + 吉 (earth 土 + mouth 口)
Originally a pictograph of a field with grain plotted in rows, suggesting density and completeness. It came to mean 'all around,' 'circumference,' and 'complete,' later extending to 'week' (a full cycle). Also a major surname, famously the Zhou dynasty.