途上
とじょう · tojou · JLPT N1 · noun
path
🛣️ 途 = road + 上 = on: 途上 = on the road, en route, half way along a journey
途 means road or route and 上 means on or upon. Used for progress: 開発途上 means still under development, a stage on the way.
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.