Chinese word

碰上

Pronunciation

Pinyinpèng shàng

Meaning

  • verbrun into

Example

今天商店里我碰上了一个老同学。jīn tiān shāng diàn lǐ wǒ pèng shàng le yí gè lǎo tóng xué

Today I ran into an old classmate at the store.

Illustration for 碰上 (run into)

More examples

出差时，我在机场碰上了同公司的经理。chū chāi shí wǒ zài jī chǎng pèng shàng le tóng gōng sī de jīng lǐ

While on a business trip, I ran into a manager from the same company at the airport.

Core concept

An unplanned meeting or encounter that occurs when someone or something crosses one's path.

Common phrases

  • 碰上麻烦pèng shàng má fán

    run into trouble

  • 碰上困难pèng shàng kùn nán

    encounter difficulties

  • 碰上好机会pèng shàng hǎo jī huì

    come across a good opportunity

Similar words

碰到pèng dào: Meeting someone or coming across something by chance in everyday situations.
遇到yù dào: Encountering a person, event, or situation, often unexpectedly.
撞到zhuàng dào: Hitting a person or object by moving into it.

Definition in Chinese

遇到，常指偶然遇见某人或遭遇某事，强调没有预先安排并带有意外或突发的意味。yù dào cháng zhǐ ǒu rán yù jiàn mǒu rén huò zāo yù mǒu shì qiáng diào méi yǒu yù xiān ān pái bìng dài yǒu yì wài huò tū fā de yì wèi

Word origin

碰 (pèng, "bump into") + 上 (shàng, "onto") pictures something unexpectedly landing in one's path, which develops into the sense of encountering a person or situation.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, it marks an encounter as unplanned, so it fits a chance meeting but not an appointment arranged in advance.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word