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天

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: 夫, 禾, 末, 未, 夭, and 无
天 U+5929, 天
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5929
← 夨
[U+5928]
CJK Unified Ideographs 太 →
[U+592A]

Translingual

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Stroke order

Han character

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天 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+1, 4 strokes, Cangjie input 一大 (MK), four-corner 10430, composition ⿱一大)

Derived characters

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Descendants

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: 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

Chinese

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Glyph origin

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Wikipedia has articles on:
The sky over Guangdong.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing's Temple of Heaven.

Oracle bone script: a frontal standing man (大) with four head variants:

  • Square or round block.
  • Square or round block with an elongated neck and a horizontal line.
  • Two equal horizontal lines.
  • Two unequal horizontal lines, resembling 上.

Chen (2019) analyzes these as either an ideogrammic compound (大 + 上) or a phono-semantic compound (phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, *l̥ˤiŋ): semantic 大 + phonetic 丁 (*tˤeŋ)).

Etymology 1

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simp. and trad.
天
alternative forms

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 xenX), while people in eastern China pronounced it with the tip of the tongue, like 坦 (MC thanX). An old northwestern dialect variant survives as 祆 (MC xen, “God of the Zoroastrians”), and the word 天竺 (MC then trjuwk, “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).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • ting1 - vernacular;
  • teng1 - literary.
Note:
  • thiⁿ - vernacular (“sky; weather; Heaven as an impersonal deity”);
  • thian/then - literary.
Note:
  • tin1 - vernacular;
  • tiêng1/tiang1 - literary (tiêng1 - Chaozhou).
    • (Leizhou)
      • Leizhou Pinyin: ti1 / tieng1
      • Sinological IPA: /tʰi³⁵/, /tʰieŋ³⁵/
Note:
  • ti1 - vernacular;
  • tieng1 - literary.

Rime
Character 天
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 透 (6)
Final (韻) 先 (85)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) IV
Fanqie 他前切
Baxter then
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/tʰen/
Pan
Wuyun
/tʰen/
Shao
Rongfen
/tʰɛn/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/tʰɛn/
Li
Rong
/tʰen/
Wang
Li
/tʰien/
Bernhard
Karlgren
/tʰien/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
tiān
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
tin1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 天 天
Reading # 1/2 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
tiān xiān
Middle
Chinese
‹ then › ‹ xen ›
Old
Chinese
/*l̥ˁi[n]/ /*l̥ˁi[n]/ (W dialect: l̥ˁ- > Hàn-time *xˁ- > MC x-)
English heaven heaven

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 天
Reading # 1/1
No. 12387
Phonetic
component
天
Rime
group
眞
Rime
subdivision
1
Corresponding
MC rime
天
Old
Chinese
/*qʰl'iːn/

Definitions

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天

  1. sky; heavens; heavenly; celestial
    天空  ―  tiānkōng  ―  sky
    天黑了。  ―  Tiān hēi le.  ―  It's getting dark. (literally, “The sky is becoming black.”)
  2. (mythology or religion) heaven as the abode of the gods or the blessed departed; heavenly
    上天  ―  shàngtiān  ―  to go up to the sky; to go to heaven
    天意  ―  tiānyì  ―  Heaven's will
  3. (mythology or religion) Heaven as an impersonal deity; often translated as God
    天主  ―  tiānzhǔ  ―  God (in the Catholic tradition)
    老天  ―  lǎotiān  ―  Heaven, Tian; God (Deity of the Zhou)
    我的天啊!  ―  Wǒ de tiān a!  ―  Oh my God!
    天助自助者。  ―  Tiān zhù zì zhù zhě.  ―  God helps those who help themselves.
  4. (Buddhism, Hinduism) deva, a god in Hinduism and some Buddhist sects
    Synonyms: 天人 (tiānrén), 提婆 (típó, “deva, a heavenly god”), 神 (“a god”) (general)
  5. (Buddhism) devaloka or Heaven, one of the six realms of existence in Buddhism
  6. top; overhead
    天橋/天桥  ―  tiānqiáo  ―  footbridge
    天窗  ―  tiānchuāng  ―  sunroof
  7. weather; climate
    天很冷。  ―  Tiān hěn lěng.  ―  It's very cold.
    如果天晴,我們就去散步。 [MSC, trad.]
    如果天晴,我们就去散步。 [MSC, simp.]
    Rúguǒ tiān qíng, wǒmen jiù qù sànbù. [Pinyin]
    If the weather clears, we'll go for a walk.
  8. day (24 hours)
    今天  ―  jīntiān  ―  today
    明天  ―  míngtiān  ―  tomorrow
    三天  ―  sān tiān  ―  three days
  9. day (as opposed to night)
    白天  ―  báitiān  ―  daytime
    三天兩夜/三天两夜  ―  sān tiān liǎng yè  ―  three days and two nights
  10. period of time in a day
    五更天  ―  wǔgèngtiān  ―  just before dawn
    天不早了。  ―  Tiān bù zǎo le.  ―  It's getting late.
  11. season
    春天、夏天、秋天、冬天 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
    chūntiān, xiàtiān, qiūtiān, dōngtiān [Pinyin]
    spring, summer, autumn, winter
    黃梅天/黄梅天  ―  huángméitiān  ―  rainy season
  12. nature
    天災/天灾  ―  tiānzāi  ―  natural disaster
  13. natural; innate
    天生  ―  tiānshēng  ―  innate
    天性  ―  tiānxìng  ―  nature, personality
    天才  ―  tiāncái  ―  genius
  14. (Hong Kong) short for 天水圍/天水围 (Tiānshuǐwéi, “Tin Shui Wai”)
Synonyms
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Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (天):
  • → Japanese: 天(てん) (ten)
  • → Korean: 천(天) (cheon)
  • → Vietnamese: thiên (天)

Etymology 2

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simp. and trad.
天

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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天

  1. (Hokkien) alternative form of 工 (kang, “day”)

References

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Japanese

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja

Kanji

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天

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. heavens, sky

Readings

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Compounds

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
天
あま
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese, ultimately from Proto-Japonic *amay.

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).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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天(あま) • (ama) 

  1. (archaic) the sky, the heavens
  2. the area above a kitchen stove:
    1. where the smoke collects in an old kitchen using a wood-burning stove
    2. a shelf or shelves above the stove
  3. (archaic) heaven
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
天
あめ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨ame2⟩ → */aməj/ → /ame/

From Old Japanese as a sound shift from ama above.[1] Compare 神 (kami, kan-, kamu-, “god”), 目 (me, ma-, “eye”), etc. Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *amay.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

天(あめ) • (ame) 

  1. (archaic) the sky, the heavens
  2. (archaic) heaven
  3. (archaic) the roof of a palace
Derived terms
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Idioms
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Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
天
てん
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 天 (MC then, “sky; heavens”). Compare modern Mandarin reading tiān.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

天(てん) • (ten) 

  1. the sky, the heavens
  2. heaven
  3. (Buddhism) a deva or devi
    Hyponym: 天女 (tennyo)
    天(てん)道(どう)
    tendō
    the world of heavenly gods; the world of devas
    天(てん)部(ぶ)
    tenbu
    devas; the class of heavenly gods
    大(だい)黒(こく)天(てん)
    Daikokuten
    Mahakala
    (literally, “the Great Black Deva”)
    弁(べん)才(ざい)天(てん)
    Benzaiten
    Saraswati
    (literally, “the Eloquent Devi”)
  4. (figurative) the gods, providence, fate
    天(てん)の与(あた)え
    ten no atae
    gift from the gods
  5. (printing, of a page) the top margin
    Antonym: 地
    Hypernym: マージン
Derived terms
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Idioms
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Affix

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天(てん) • (ten) 

  1. the sky, the heavens
  2. heaven
  3. short for 天ぷら (tenpura)

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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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[3] 하ᄂᆞᆯ〮 (Yale: hànól) 텬 (Yale: thyèn)

Pronunciation

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Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

天 (eumhun 하늘 천 (haneul cheon))

  1. hanja form? of 천 (“sky; heaven”)

Compounds

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References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [4]

Vietnamese

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Han character

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天: Hán Việt readings: thiên[1][2][3]
天: Nôm readings: thiên[1][2][3], thiêng[1]

  1. chữ Hán form of thiên (“sky; heaven; God”)

Compounds

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References

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