How to read 上: 10 readings with examples

The Jōyō Kanji table lists 10 readings for 上. Which one you use depends on the word it sits in, so learn the words below and the reading comes with them.

On'yomi

ジョウjouショウshou

Kun'yomi

うえueうわuwaかみkamiあ(げる)ageruあ(がる)agaruのぼ(る)noboruのぼ(せる)noboseruのぼ(す)nobosu

Word	Reading	Type	Meaning
以上	いじょうijou	On	or more; that's all
屋上	おくじょうokujou	On	rooftop
上人	しょうにんshounin	On	Buddhist saint
机の上	つくえのうえtsukuenoue	Kun	on the desk
上着	うわぎuwagi	Kun	jacket
川上	かわかみkawakami	Kun	upstream
上げる	あげるageru	Kun	to raise; to give
上がる	あがるagaru	Kun	to rise, go up
上る	のぼるnoboru	Kun	to climb, go up

How to tell which reading of 上 to use

ジョウ covers most compounds (以上, 屋上). ショウ is rare (上人).
On its own, 上 is うえ. As the first part of a word it is often うわ (上着, 上履き).
Verbs: 上げる / 上がる (raise / rise) use あ; 上る (climb, go up) uses のぼ.

Seen in JapanTrain platforms: 上り (nobori) trains head toward Tokyo or the main city.

Quiz

Can you read these sentences?

Why does one kanji have so many readings?

Kanji came to Japan from China over several centuries. Each wave brought the Chinese pronunciation of its time and place, and Japanese kept the older sounds alongside the newer ones. Those borrowed sounds are the on'yomi. For example, 生 is セイ in 先生 but ショウ in 一生. Japanese also attached its own native words to the characters, and those are the kun'yomi.

Sounds also shift when words join: ひ becomes び in 日曜日, ひと becomes びと in 人々, and ふん becomes ぷん in 三分. That is why the readings listed in a dictionary don't always match what you hear.