天
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TranslingualEdit
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Han characterEdit
天 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+1, 4 strokes, cangjie input 一大 (MK), four-corner 10430, composition ⿱一大)
Derived charactersEdit
- 迗, 𣏿, 祆, 䀖, 䚶, 𠇄, 𠕹, 矢, 关, 吴, 昊, 奏, 癸, 龑(䶮), 𡗶, 吞, 㤁, 昋, 沗, 蚕, 奣, 䨿, 䪞, 鴌, 𠔬, 䵡, 䗞, 䘉
- 𠍴, 㴁, 𣷹, 㵄, 蝅, 蠺
DescendantsEdit
- て (Hiragana character derived from Man'yōgana)
- テ (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)
ReferencesEdit
- KangXi: page 248, character 4
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5833
- Dae Jaweon: page 500, character 2
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 522, character 1
- Unihan data for U+5929
ChineseEdit
| simp. and trad. |
天 | |
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Glyph originEdit
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| Bronze inscriptions | Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Bronze inscriptions | Chu slip and silk script | Qin slip script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
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A top line representing the level above a man with outstretched arms (大 (dà)). Ancient representations of the character depicted a man with a large head, an anthropomorphic representation of heaven.
Original meaning of the word is “sky”. Such concept is difficult to depict with a pictogram, hence the current form. Perhaps influenced by the glyph, the character was frequently glossed in Old Chinese documents with 顛 (“crown of the head”), and such had led to incorrect hypotheses which regarded 天 (tiān) as a derivation of 顛 or 巔, “top (of the head/hill)”.
EtymologyEdit
This character was previously reconstructed to have a /*tʰ/-initial in Old Chinese, but this hypothesis has been largely discounted in recent reconstructions, in light of evidence from early Chinese accounts of dialectal pronunciations, transcription of other languages, as well as cognate/derived characters within Chinese, which has all pointed to a voiceless resonant initial /*l̥-/ in Old Chinese. According to chapter 1 of Shiming, by c. 200 CE, this initial had already produced dialectal variation in the pronunciation: People in central-western China pronounced it with the back of the tongue, like 顯 (MC henX), while people in eastern China pronounced it with the tip of the tongue, like 坦 (MC tʰɑnX). An old northwestern dialect variant survives as 祆 (MC hen, “God of the Zoroastrians”), and the word 天竺 (MC tʰen ʈɨuk̚, “India”) was used to transcribe Old Persian *Hind-uka ("India").
Further etymology is unknown. During the time when this term was reconstructed with a /*tʰ-/ initial, it was frequently compared with tengri, the name for God in early Turkic and Mongolic peoples' languages. This now appears unlikely. The only certain external cognate is the Central Bai (a language closely related to Chinese) word heinl (“sky, heaven”) /xẽ⁵⁵/. Chen (1998) proposes cognation with 祁連 (OC *g'ieg-lian) and 赫連 (OC *khak-lian), transcriptions of a Xiongnu word for "sky", which he also relates to 昊天 (OC *g'ôg-hlin).
PronunciationEdit
DefinitionsEdit
天
- sky; heavens; heavenly; celestial
- (mythology or religion) heaven as the abode of the gods or the blessed departed; heavenly.
- (mythology or religion) Heaven as an impersonal deity, often translated as God.
- top; overhead
- weather; climate
- day (24 hours)
- † day (as opposed to night)
- 白天 ― báitiān ― daytime
- † season
- nature
- natural; innate
SynonymsEdit
Dialectal synonyms of 天 (“day (24 hours)”) [map]
CompoundsEdit
Derived terms from 天
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DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “天”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
- Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00849
JapaneseEdit
KanjiEdit
天
ReadingsEdit
- Go-on: てん (ten, Jōyō)
- Kan-on: てん (ten, Jōyō)
- Kun: あま (ama, 天, Jōyō †); あめ (ame, 天, Jōyō)
- Nanori: かみ (kami); そら (sora); た (ta); たか (taka); たかし (takashi); なま (nama); て (te); あき (aki); あも (amo)
CompoundsEdit
Compounds
- 韋駄天 (idaten): Skanda (Buddhism); fast-footed person
- 帝釈天 (Taishakuten): Śakra, lord of the Devas and an important figure in Japanese Buddhism
- 吉祥天 (kitsushōten): Kisshōten
- 天麩羅 (tenpura): tempura
- 任天堂 (Nintendō): Nintendo (gaming company)
- 毘沙門天 (Bishamonten): Vaiśravaṇa, one of the Four Heavenly Kings and an important figure in Japanese Buddhism
Etymology 1Edit
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 天 |
| あま Grade: 1 |
| kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. A bound form only appearing in compounds.[1][2] Compare the formation of 目 (ma, bound form in compounds) and 目 (me, standalone form), 手 (ta, bound form in compounds) and 手 (te, standalone form).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
- (archaic) the sky, the heavens
- the area above a kitchen stove:
- where the smoke collects in an old kitchen using a wood-burning stove
- a shelf or shelves above the stove
- (archaic) heaven
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms from noun あま
- 雨 (ame): rain
- 天照 (Amaterasu): “(that which) lights the heavens” → name of the highest-standing deity in the Shinto pantheon
- 天の川 (ama no gawa), 天の河 (ama no gawa): the Milky Way
- 天下り (amakudari): “descent from heaven” → an avatar of a god visiting earth; a former public official now working in the private sector
Etymology 2Edit
| Kanji in this term |
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| 天 |
| あめ Grade: 1 |
| kun’yomi |
⟨ame2⟩ → */aməj/ → /ame/
From Old Japanese as a sound shift from ama above.[1] Likely derived by fusion of ama + い (i, emphatic nominative particle), similar to the derivation of other words such as 神 (kami, from kamu + i), 目 (me, from ma + i), etc.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
Derived termsEdit
IdiomsEdit
Idioms
- 天に跼り地に蹐む (ame ni sekagamari tsuchi ni nukiashinifumu), 天に跼り地に蹐む (ame ni segukumari tsuchi ninukiashinifumu): “in heaven, bow and step carefully on the ground” → to be humble and respectful in heaven
Etymology 3Edit
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 天 |
| てん Grade: 1 |
| on’yomi |
From Middle Chinese 天 (MC tʰen, “sky; heavens”). Compare modern Mandarin reading tiān.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
- the sky, the heavens
- heaven
- (Buddhist god) a deva or devi
- (figurative) the gods, providence, fate
- 天の与え
- ten no atae
- gift from the gods
- 天の与え
- (printing, of a page) the top margin
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms from noun てん
- 雨天 (uten)
- 天下 (tenka), (rarely) 天下 (tenge)
- 天蓋 (tengai)
- 天気 (tenki): weather
- 天狗 (tengu): long-nosed youkai of Japanese mythology
- 天空 (tenkū)
- 天候 (tenkō): weather
- 天降 (tenkō)
- 天国 (tengoku): heaven
- 天才 (tensai): genius, prodigy
- 天災 (tensai)
- 天災地変 (tensai chihen)
- 天使 (tenshi): heavenly messenger, angel
- 天上 (tenjō)
- 天井 (tenjō): roof, ceiling
- 天職 (tenshoku)
- 天真爛漫 (tenshin ranman)
- 天神 (tenjin): a god of heaven, heavenly being
- 天神地祇 (tenjin chigi): the gods of heaven and earth
- 天性 (tensei) inherent nature, disposition
- 天体 (tentai)
- 天地 (tenchi): heaven and earth
- 天頂 (tenchō): a zenith
- 天然 (tennen): natural, innate
- 天皇 (tennō): emperor (of Japan)
- 天罰 (tenbatsu): divine punishment
- 天秤 (tenbin): a balance, a pair of scales
- 天変地異 (tenpen chii): an extraordinary natural phenomenon or occurrence
- 天文 (tenmon)
- 天文学 (tenmongaku)
- 天文台 (tenmondai)
- 弁才天, 辯才天, 弁財天, 辨財天 (benzaiten)
- 楽天 (rakuten): an optimistic outlook, easygoing-ness
- 楽天家 (rakutenka): an optimist
- 楽天主義 (rakuten shugi): optimism
- 楽天主義者 (rakuten shugisha): an optimist
IdiomsEdit
Idioms
AffixEdit
ReferencesEdit
KoreanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle Chinese 天 (MC tʰen).
| Historical Readings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dongguk Jeongun Reading | ||
| Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 | 텬 (Yale: thyèn) | |
| Middle Korean | ||
| Text | Eumhun | |
| Gloss (hun) | Reading | |
| Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] | 하ᄂᆞᆯ〮 (Yale: hànól) | 텬 (Yale: thyèn) |
PronunciationEdit
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [t͡ɕʰʌ̹n]
- Phonetic hangul: [천]
HanjaEdit
天 (eumhun 하늘 천 (haneul cheon))
CompoundsEdit
Compounds
- 천개 (天蓋, cheon'gae)
- 천계 (天啓, cheon'gye)
- 천구 (天球, cheon'gu)
- 천국 (天菊, cheon'guk)
- 천국 (天國, cheon'guk)
- 천궁 (天穹, cheon'gung)
- 천당 (天堂, cheondang)
- 천리 (天理, cheolli)
- 천명 (天命, cheonmyeong)
- 천명 (天明, cheonmyeong)
- 천문 (天文, cheonmun)
- 천벌 (天罰, cheonbeol)
- 천부 (天父, cheonbu)
- 천사 (天使, cheonsa)
- 천산 (天山, ^cheonsan)
- 천상 (天上, cheonsang)
- 천성 (天性, cheonseong)
- 천신 (天神, cheonsin)
- 천아 (天鵝, cheona)
- 천연 (天然, cheonyeon)
- 천자 (天子, cheonja)
- 천장 (天障, cheonjang)
- 천재 (天才, cheonjae, “genius”)
- 천재 (天災, cheonjae)
- 천저 (天底, cheonjeo)
- 천적 (天敵, cheonjeok)
- 천정 (天頂, cheonjeong)
- 천주 (天主, cheonju)
- 천지 (天地, cheonji)
- 천직 (天職, cheonjik)
- 천진 (天津, ^cheonjin, “Tianjin”)
- 천체 (天體, cheonche)
- 천칭 (天秤, cheonching)
- 천하 (天下, cheonha)
- 천하 (天河, cheonha)
- 천황 (天皇, cheonhwang)
- 범천 (梵天, beomcheon)
- 상천 (上天, sangcheon)
- 선천 (先天, seoncheon)
- 승천 (昇天, seungcheon)
- 천랑성 (天狼星, cheollangseong, “Sirius”)
- 천문대 (天文臺, cheonmundae)
- 천문학 (天文學, cheonmunhak)
- 천상의 (天象儀, cheonsang'ui)
- 천안문 (天安門, ^cheonanmun, “Tian'anmen”)
- 천연두 (天然痘, cheonyeondu)
- 천왕성 (天王星, cheonwangseong, “Uranus”)
- 천평칭 (天平秤, cheonpyeongching, “scale; balance”)
- 마천루 (摩天樓, macheollu)
- 신천옹 (信天翁, sincheonong, “albatross”)
- 이민위천 (以民爲天, iminwicheon)
ReferencesEdit
- 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]
VietnameseEdit
Han characterEdit
天: Hán Việt readings: thiên[1][2][3]
天: Nôm readings: thiên[1][2][3], thiêng[1]
CompoundsEdit
Derived terms
- 皇天 (hoàng thiên)
- 開天立地 (khai thiên lập địa)
- 驚天動地 (kinh thiên động địa)
- 露天 (lộ thiên)
- 母上天 (Mẫu Thượng Thiên, “none of four heavenly mothers in Đạo Mẫu”)
- 人定勝天 (nhân định thắng thiên)
- 國色天香 (quốc sắc thiên hương)
- 升天 (thăng thiên)
- 青天白日 (thanh thiên bạch nhật)
- 青天 (thanh thiên)
- 天恩 (thiên ân)
- 天干 (Thiên Can)
- 天球 (thiên cầu)
- 天主 (Thiên Chúa, “God”)
- 天機 (thiên cơ)
- 天宮 (thiên cung)
- 天堂 (thiên đàng)
- 天道 (thiên đạo)
- 天地 (thiên địa)
- 天敵 (thiên địch)
- 天定 (thiên định)
- 天庭 (thiên đình)
- 天頂 (thiên đỉnh)
- 天堂 (thiên đường, “heaven; paradise”)
- 天界 (thiên giới)
- 天下 (thiên hạ, “the outside world”)
- 天河 (thiên hà)
- 天后 (Thiên Hậu)
- 天花 (thiên hoa)
- 天皇 (thiên hoàng)
- 天香 (thiên hương)
- 天雷 (thiên lôi)
- 天馬 (Thiên Mã)
- 天命 (thiên mệnh)
- 天鵝 (thiên nga)
- 天顏 (thiên nhan)
- 天然 (thiên nhiên, “nature; natural”)
- 天賦 (thiên phú)
- 天山 (Thiên Sơn, “Tian Shan”)
- 天使 (thiên sứ, “angel”)
- 天才 (thiên tài)
- 天災 (thiên tai)
- 天造 (thiên tạo)
- 天石 (thiên thạch)
- 天台 (thiên thai)
- 天神 (thiên thần, “angel”)
- 天體 (thiên thể)
- 天時 (thiên thời)
- 天上 (thiên thượng)
- 天仙 (thiên tiên)
- 天性 (thiên tính)
- 天子 (thiên tử)
- 天資 (thiên tư)
- 天文學 (thiên văn học, “astronomy”)
- 天文 (thiên văn)
- 天 (Thiên)
- 順天 (Thuận Thiên, “mythical sword of Vietnamese King Lê Lợi, literally Heaven's will”)