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Chinese[edit]
seven
up; on; on topup; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up
eight
under; next; lowerunder; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter
trad. (七上八下)
七
上
八
下
simp. #(七上八下)
七
上
八
下
Etymology[edit]
A derivative of the general 七……八…… structure for chengyu. Compare English at sixes and sevens.
Pronunciation[edit]
Mandarin
(Pinyin): qīshàngbāxià
(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧ ㄕㄤˋ ㄅㄚ ㄒㄧㄚˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cat1 soeng5 baat3 haa6
Mandarin
(Standard Chinese)+
Hanyu Pinyin: qīshàngbāxià
Zhuyin: ㄑㄧ ㄕㄤˋ ㄅㄚ ㄒㄧㄚˋ
Tongyong Pinyin: cishàngbasià
Wade–Giles: chʻi1-shang4-pa1-hsia4
Yale: chī-shàng-bā-syà
Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chishanqbashiah
Palladius: цишанбася (cišanbasja)
Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ pä⁵⁵ ɕi̯ä⁵¹/
Cantonese
(Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Jyutping: cat1 soeng5 baat3 haa6
Yale: chāt séuhng baat hah
Cantonese Pinyin: tsat7 soeng5 baat8 haa6
Guangdong Romanization: ced1 sêng5 bad3 ha6
Sinological IPA (key): /t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ sœːŋ¹³ paːt̚³ haː²²/
Idiom[edit]
七上八下
to be nervous, anxious or perturbed; in an unsettled state of mind; to have butterflies in one's stomach
(rare) in a mess; to have a messy state of affairs
(Mainland China, politics) the unspoken rule that CCP officials aged less than 67 can remain in office and those aged over 68 will retire