"E piʻi i luna."

Translation: Climb up.

[CharlesWil267432]

"Climb" in English is the same as "climb up"

[Leilani896423]

Yes, but you can also "climb down" so without context, the preposition is important

[rabelon]

I see your point, but can you make that argument in other than English? Climbing implies upward movement, for example, climbing the ladder of success. For most, the expression does not imply "failure." I feel that "climb up" is literal, while "climb down" is an oxymoron. The opposite of "climb up" is "come down."

[rabelon]

Wow, instead of an explanation or discussion, I get a down-arrow. Cold-blooded.

[lynneo]

I agree with you, rabelon. "Climb" implies an upward movement. (US English teacher, here) "Go down" or "come down" is the opposite. But I do disagree with your next statement about "climb on" and "climb on top" being the same. You can "climb but not reach the top," though you are still "climbing."

[rabelon]

Thanks for that. You are quite correct. If English precision matters, then "climb onto" and "climb on" have a different nuance, as well does "climb on top." Although, the whole discussion is a bit funny. We seem to be sidetracked a bit.

[Eliza727459]

It may be regional in the end. I have climbed up trees, and climbed down holes. I have climbed over piles of boxes. To me the word "climb" has more to do with using all four limbs, rather than just legs/feet.

[DABurnside]

Prepositions are arguably the most difficult part of learning a new language. It doesn't matter if climb and climb up convey the same meaning in English. What does matter is learning how to say up, down, inside, outside, and so on in the object language.

[rabelon]

Climb on and climb on top are the same. Can you climb on something without being on top? Or is it "climb on the hill, but never reach the top?"

[MacKinzieRob]

You could climb on a bus but not be on top of it

[deactivated user]

Do you mean climb into a bus? When I board a bus, I do not climb on it.

[BethKing-M]

Depends on the bus

[lynneo]

What kind of a bus do you CLIMB on, without ending up being on TOP of the bus? You BOARD a bus, or GO UP the steps of a bus, but climbing implies getting to the top of the bus, even possibly using all fours! (like crawling or scaling)

[BethKing-M]

Why is "Go upward" a "typo, and supposedly "corrected" by changing it to "Go upwards" when I've always been taught that "upwardS" is wrong - a colloquialism right up there with "amongst," and, even worse, "whilst"?