cd .. will back the directory up by one. If you want to reach a folder in the parent directory, you can do something like cd ../foldername. You can use the ".." trick as many times as you want to back up through multiple parent directories. For example, cd ../../Applications would take you to Macintosh HD/Applications
For Mac Terminal
cd .. # one up
cd ../ # two up
cd # home directory
cd / # root directory
cd "yaya-13" # use quotes if the file name contains punctuation or spaces
Typing cd will take you back to your home directory.
Whereas typing cd .. will move you up only one directory (the direct parent of the current directory).
To move up a directory, the quickest way would be to add an alias to ~/.bash_profile
alias ..='cd ..'
and then one would need only to type '..[return]'.
Let's make it even more simple. Type the below after the $ sign to go up one directory:
../
Source: Stackoverflow.com