上期

• Pinyin: shàng qī
• Hanzi breakdown: 上 = preceding/previous (in temporal context); 期 = 其 (phonetic qī) + 月 (moon/time) = a defined period of time or a cycle — 上期: the previous defined period or issue

Meaning

The previous period, issue, or term; the last cycle, instalment, edition, or session immediately before the current one.

Used across many contexts: in publishing, 上期 means the previous issue of a journal or magazine; in finance, it refers to the previous reporting or fiscal period; in education, it can mean the previous semester or term. Contrasted with 本期 (current issue/period) and 下期 (next issue/period). Common in formal reports and media.

Examples

1. 根据公司上期财务报告显示，第三季度的净利润同比增长了百分之十七，但受原材料价格波动影响，毛利率较上期有所收窄。 According to the company’s previous financial report, net profit in the third quarter rose 17% year over year, but due to fluctuations in raw material prices, the gross margin narrowed compared with the prior period.
2. 这本学术期刊上期刊载的关于人工智能伦理的综述文章引发了广泛关注，本期编辑特别设置了专题讨论版块以回应读者的后续问题。 A review article on AI ethics published in the previous issue of this academic journal drew widespread attention, and in this issue the editors have set up a special discussion section to address readers’ follow-up questions.
3. 上期培训班结束时，学员普遍反映课程安排过于紧凑，本期培训针对这一反馈进行了调整，增加了实操练习和分组讨论的时间比例。 At the end of the previous training session, participants generally felt the schedule was too tight; in response, this session has been adjusted to increase the share of time for hands-on practice and small-group discussion.

Usage Guide

Context: finance, publishing, education, administration, media

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 与上期相比，本财年运营成本下降了9%，主要得益于供应链优化和能源管理提升。(Compared with the previous period, operating costs this fiscal year fell by 9%, mainly thanks to supply chain optimization and improved energy management.)
• 上期专题一出，读者来信增至平时三倍，本期将继续深入讨论，并邀请专家撰文。(After the last issue's feature was published, reader letters tripled, so this issue will continue the discussion and invite experts to contribute articles.)

Don't Say

• 我们上期会议已经讨论过了 — while understandable, 上次会议 is more natural for referring to the previous meeting; 上期 is better suited to issues, reporting periods, and scheduled academic or financial cycles

Origin & History

上 (previous/upper; in temporal sense, the one before) + 期 (period/issue/term) = the preceding period or issue

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal