38.1 Location Expressions III

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In this lesson, we will learn the new location expressions below. Some of them end with 邊 bin6 / bin1 (‘side’) or 面 min6 (‘side’). 邊 bin is usually more often pronounced with Tone 6 (bin6) nowadays.

For expressions with more than one pronunciation, we will only use the highlighted pronunciations in this book. You can focus on them first and learn the other pronunciations later.

1.上邊soeng6 bin6 / soeng6 bin1above, on
上面soeng6 min6
2.下邊haa6 bin6 / haa6 bin1below, under
下面haa6 min6
3.樓上lau4 soeng6upstairs
4.樓下lau4 haa6downstairs

We can add the word 最 zeoi3 (‘most’) before these location expressions to indicate the furthest point of a direction.

最 + 上邊 = 最上邊
zeoi3 + soeng6 bin6 = zeoi3 soeng6 bin6
most + above = top

最 + 下邊 = 最下邊
zeoi3 + haa6 bin6 = zeoi3 haa6 bin6
most + below = lowest

When we add 最 zeoi3, we can optionally omit the word 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6. When 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6 is omitted, 上 soeng6 is sometimes said with Tone 5 as soeng5.

最上邊 → 最上
zeoi3 soeng6 bin6zeoi3 soeng6 / soeng5
top

最下邊 → 最下
zeoi3 haa6 bin6 → zeoi3 haa6
lowest

Below are some alternative expressions for ‘top’ or ‘lowest’. They are supplementary and won’t appear in the exercises or activities.

5.最高zeoi3 gou1most + high = highest
6.最頂zeoi3 deng2most + top = topmost
7.最低zeoi3 dai1most + low = lowest
8.最底zeoi3 dai2most + bottom = bottommost
9.最落zeoi3 lok6most + down = lowest

To refer to the end of a path, we can say:

10.最尾zeoi3 mei5 / zeoi3 mei1end (literally ‘most + end’)
11.盡頭zeon6 tau4end (literally ‘utmost + front’)