上网

• Pinyin: shàng wǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 上 = to go on; 网 = 冂 + メメ, a pictograph of a net or web

Meaning

To go online; to use the internet. The standard expression for accessing the internet.

A verb-object compound for using the internet, whether browsing, chatting, shopping online, or using social media. Very common in modern Chinese daily life. Can be used alone or with purpose, e.g. 上网买东西 (shop online), 上网查一下 (look it up online).

Examples

1. 我每天都上网。 I go online every day.
2. 你可以上网查一下。 You can look it up online.
3. 他喜欢上网看视频。 He likes to watch videos online.

Usage Guide

Context: technology, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你在上网吗？(Are you online?)
• 上网看看有没有。(Check online to see if there is any.)

Don't Say

• 我上了网络。(Unnatural — say 我上了网 or 我上网了, not 网络)

Origin & History

A compound of 上 (to go onto) and 网 (net/network), literally 'to go onto the net' — coined when the internet became popular in China in the late 1990s.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal