天神

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	God; unusual; mysterious God; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essence; lively; spiritual being
simp. and trad. (天神)		天	神

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiānshén

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄕㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ san⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thian-sîn

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiānshén
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄕㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tianshén
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-shên²
    • Yale: tyān-shén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianshern
    • Palladius: тяньшэнь (tjanʹšɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʂən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tin¹ san⁴
    • Yale: tīn sàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ san⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ sen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ sɐn²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Longyan, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-sîn
    • Tâi-lô: thian-sîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tiensiin
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ sin²³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ sin²⁴/
    • IPA (Longyan): /tʰiɛn³³⁴ sin¹¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ sin²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² sin¹³/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² sin²⁴/

Noun

天神

1. god; godhead; divinity
2. the heavenly gods (opposed to ancestors and earth spirits)

Coordinate terms

• 地祇 (dìqí)

Further reading

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “天神” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
天	神
てん Grade: 1	じん Grade: 3
on’yomi	goon

Alternative spelling
天神 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 天神 (MC then zyin). Compare modern Mandarin 天神 (tiānshén, “god, godhead, divinity”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) てんじん [tèńjíń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑĩɴ]

Usage notes

Less commonly read using the kan'on reading tenshin.

Noun

天神: an umeboshi

天神: the hairstyle

天(てん)神(じん) • (tenjin) 

1. (Japanese mythology) all gods in the 高天原 (Takama ga Hara, “Plain of High Heaven”), the heavenly abode ruled by 天照 (Amaterasu)
2. a noble wearing 直衣 (nōshi, “robes not dyed to match the wearer's rank”)
3. an umeboshi (from the way that Sugawara no Michizane (see Proper noun below) was very fond of ume)
4. an umeboshi pit
5. short for 天神髷 (tenjin mage) or 天神結び (tenjin musubi), a style of bow-shaped topknot or bun worn by women, popular in the late 1800s

Synonyms

• (gods): 天(あま)つ神(かみ) (amatsukami)
• (umeboshi): 梅干(うめぼ)し (umeboshi)
• (hairstyle): 天神髷(てんじんまげ) (tenjinmage), 天神結(てんじんむす)び (tenjinmusubi)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 天神地祇(てんじんちぎ) (tenjinchigi): all the gods of heaven and earth
• 天神七代(てんじんしちだい) (Tenjin Shichidai): the seven generations of gods in Shintō mythology

Proper noun

天神: Sugawara no Michizane

天神: Tenjin-san, the Tenman-gū shrine to Sugawara no Michizane in Kitano

天神: Tenjin Station in downtown Fukuoka

天(てん)神(じん) • (Tenjin) 

1. the Shinto kami of scholarship, the deification of Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 CE), a scholar, poet, and politician
2. a shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane
3. one of the traditional Noh masks, depicting one of the 鬼神 (onigami; kijin, “fierce gods”) as the vengeful spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, the lead role in the 雷電 (Raiden) piece
4. A neighbourhood of downtown Fukuoka

Synonyms

• (shrine): 天満宮(てんまんぐう) (Tenman-gū)

Derived terms

• 天神(てんじん)ぞ (tenjinzo): (archaic) for sure, for certain, absolutely, definitely
• 天神講(てんじんこう) (Tenjin Kō): a matsuri celebrating Sugawara no Michizane, held on the date of his death, 25 February (or on the 25th of every month)
• 天神祭(てんじんまつり) (Tenjin Matsuri): a matsuri celebrating Sugawara no Michizane, held on the date of his death, 25 February (or on the 25th of every month)
• 天神橋(てんじんばし) (Tenjin-bashi): a bridge over the Yodo River in Ōsaka
• 天神髭(てんじんひげ) (Tenjin-hige): a beard of the style shown in depictions of Sugawara no Michizane
• 天神山(てんじんやま) (Tenjin-yama): the name of various mountains and other places around Japan
• 天神山古墳(てんじんやまこふん) (Tenjin-yama Kofun): a late-fourth-century kofun tomb in Gunma prefecture

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
天	神
あま(つ) Grade: 1	かみ Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
天神 (kyūjitai)

For pronunciation and definitions of 天神 – see the following entry.

【天津神あまつかみ】 [noun] (Shinto) the gods of the heavens Alternative spelling 天つ神

(This term, 天神, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Korean

Hanja in this term
天	神

Noun

天神 • (cheonsin) (hangeul 천신)

1. Hanja form^? of 천신.

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
天	神

Noun

天神

1. chữ Hán form of thiên thần (“angel”).