Shàng = On top of, to get on

Xià = beneath, to get off

These two words can be used as verbs.

Examples:

Shàng:

“Wǒ jiǔdiǎn yào shàng fēijī.”

“I get on the plane at 9 o’clock.”

Xià:

“Nǐ zǎi nǎr xià huǒchē?”

“Where do you get off the train?”

Don’t forget that Shàng and Xià can be used as verbs with other nouns, and their meaning will be changed slightly.

Shàng & Xià can be used as the beginning and ending class or work.

More examples (unrelated to school note):

“Wǒ cóng Shànghǎi shàng huǒchē, dào Běijīng xià chē.”

“I got on the train in Shànghái, and got off in Běijīng.”

“Xiàle fēijī yǐhòu, wǒ yào qù chī wǔfàn.”

“After I got off the plane, I went and ate lunch.”

Gōnglǐ = kilometer.

“Niǔyuē lí zhèr liǎngbǎi gōnglǐ.”

“New York is 200 kilometers from here.”

Mǐ = meter

“Tā zhēn gāo, liǎng mǐ duō!”

“He is really tall, more than 2 meters tall!”

Because I’m American, the words for us without the metric system:

Yīnglǐ = mile

Mǎ = yard

Yīngchī = foot