<p>在 。。。 上 = 'in' or 'on' or 'to' or 'upon' maybe more possibilities.</p>

<p>在历史上 'in history'
在桌子上 'on the table'
在某种程度上 'in a way, to an extent'</p>

<p>红领巾迎着太阳
Young Pioneers welcome the sun,
阳光洒在海面上
sunlight spills upon the sea,</p>

<p>(我更好去喝点茶， me, I'd rather drink some tea)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-25T22:38:28.863Z
我更好去喝点茶 is not commonly used in mainland China. I'd rather drink some tea is 我宁可 (or 宁肯) 喝点茶. 更好 is "better" in verbatim. However I'd better drink some tea is 我最好喝点茶 than 我更好喝点茶.
Nathan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T00:10:22.470Z
Would "Sunlight spills *onto* the sea?" improve a bit?
dan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T05:48:00.193Z
'onto' is good too! The word 'upon' contains 'upo', related to German 'ab' from an ancient word root 'apo' meaning 'from' 'under' or 'go down'. There is not really a sense of 'go up' in it, more a sense of 'go down to'. Someone made these poor kids get up really early and watch the sunrise. If I were there, I might have said, "I'd rather go and have a cup of tea." And I should have written '我更愿意去‘ or '我还是去’ I will never learn Chinese!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-25T21:33:18.743Z
2017-10-25T21:33:18.743Z
Pedroski
<p>Means all over the sea surface, the sun light has made the sea look like red. So 2 I would say.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-25T21:36:23.517Z
2017-10-25T21:36:23.517Z
FinalLink
<p>I'm learning《让我们荡起双桨》right now and at the beginning of the second verse it goes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>红领巾迎着太阳</p>
<p>阳光洒在海面上</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What function is 上 serving in the second line?</p>
<p>The three possibe translations I can imagine are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Sunlight spills on <strong>top of</strong> the sea surface.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Sunlight <strong>from above</strong> spills on the sea surface.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Sunlight spills on the sea surface <strong>ahead</strong>. (I only think this is a possibility because the 红领巾 in the first line gives that forward to glory vibe)</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Since 上 can have any three of the above bolded meanings and my grammar is terrible, can someone illuminate me as to which of those translations is the most correct and what grammatical principle is at play in this sentence that I'm missing?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-25T19:09:21.487Z
Welcome to Chinese Language SE! Not sure about your level of grammar but maybe [this post](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Idiomatic_phrases_with_%22zai%22) might be helpful for you?
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-25T19:42:55.957Z
@Blaszard that is helpful, thanks. I think part of my problem is I usually try to translate stuff word by word in my notebook, and that turns me around phrase-wise a lot of the time.
user239139
<translation><grammar><meaning>
What does 上 mean in the lyrics 红领巾迎着太阳 阳光洒在海面上?
# What does 上 mean in the lyrics 红领巾迎着太阳 阳光洒在海面上?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-25)

I'm learning《让我们荡起双桨》right now and at the beginning of the second verse it goes:

> 红领巾迎着太阳
>
> 阳光洒在海面上

What function is 上 serving in the second line?

The three possibe translations I can imagine are:

1. Sunlight spills on **top of** the sea surface.
2. Sunlight **from above** spills on the sea surface.
3. Sunlight spills on the sea surface **ahead**. (I only think this is a possibility because the 红领巾 in the first line gives that forward to glory vibe)

Since 上 can have any three of the above bolded meanings and my grammar is terrible, can someone illuminate me as to which of those translations is the most correct and what grammatical principle is at play in this sentence that I'm missing?

**Tags:** translation, grammar, meaning

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to Chinese Language SE! Not sure about your level of grammar but maybe [this post](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Idiomatic_phrases_with_%22zai%22) might be helpful for you?  
> **username_0**: @username_1 that is helpful, thanks. I think part of my problem is I usually try to translate stuff word by word in my notebook, and that turns me around phrase-wise a lot of the time.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-10-25. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

在 。。。 上 = 'in' or 'on' or 'to' or 'upon' maybe more possibilities.

在历史上 'in history'
在桌子上 'on the table'
在某种程度上 'in a way, to an extent'

红领巾迎着太阳
Young Pioneers welcome the sun,
阳光洒在海面上
sunlight spills upon the sea,

(我更好去喝点茶， me, I'd rather drink some tea)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: 我更好去喝点茶 is not commonly used in mainland China. I'd rather drink some tea is 我宁可 (or 宁肯) 喝点茶. 更好 is "better" in verbatim. However I'd better drink some tea is 我最好喝点茶 than 我更好喝点茶.  
> **username_4**: Would "Sunlight spills *onto* the sea?" improve a bit?  
> **username_2**: 'onto' is good too! The word 'upon' contains 'upo', related to German 'ab' from an ancient word root 'apo' meaning 'from' 'under' or 'go down'. There is not really a sense of 'go up' in it, more a sense of 'go down to'. Someone made these poor kids get up really early and watch the sunrise. If I were there, I might have said, "I'd rather go and have a cup of tea." And I should have written '我更愿意去‘ or '我还是去’ I will never learn Chinese!  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2017-10-25. Score: 0

Means all over the sea surface, the sun light has made the sea look like red. So 2 I would say.


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