| 上有老下有小 |
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo |
lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom) / fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children / sandwich generation |
| 上 |
shǎng |
used in 上声 |
| 上 |
shàng |
(bound form) up; upper; above; previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb; to get onto; to go up / to attend (class or university) / (directional complement) up / (noun suffix) on; above |
| 有 |
yǒu |
to have; there is / (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意 intentional) |
| 老 |
lǎo |
prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity / old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough |
| 下 |
xià |
down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action |
| 有 |
yǒu |
to have; there is / (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意 intentional) |
| 小 |
xiǎo |
small / tiny / few / young |