高天原

Chinese

		Heaven; God; the sky above	former; original; primary former; original; primary; raw; level; cause; source
simp. and trad. (高天原)		高天	原

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 高天原 (literally “Plain of High Heaven”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Gāotiānyuán

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄠ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄩㄢˊ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Gāotiānyuán
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄠ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄩㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Gaotianyuán
    • Wade–Giles: Kao¹-tʻien¹-yüan²
    • Yale: Gāu-tyān-ywán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Gautianyuan
    • Palladius: Гаотяньюань (Gaotjanʹjuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ɥɛn³⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: kaw then ngjwon

Rime
Character	高	天	原
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	透 (6)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)	先 (85)	元 (66)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Closed
Division (等)	I	IV	III
Fanqie	古勞切	他前切	愚袁切
Baxter	kaw	then	ngjwon
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kɑu/	/tʰen/	/ŋʉɐn/
Pan Wuyun	/kɑu/	/tʰen/	/ŋʷiɐn/
Shao Rongfen	/kɑu/	/tʰɛn/	/ŋiuɐn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kaw/	/tʰɛn/	/ŋuan/
Li Rong	/kɑu/	/tʰen/	/ŋiuɐn/
Wang Li	/kɑu/	/tʰien/	/ŋĭwɐn/
Bernard Karlgren	/kɑu/	/tʰien/	/ŋi̯wɐn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gāo	tiān	yuán
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gou1	tin1	jyun4

Proper noun

高天原

1. (Japanese mythology, Shinto) Takamagahara

Japanese

Kanji in this term
高	天	原
たか Grade: 2	あま > ま Grade: 1	はら Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese, first attested in the Kojiki (712 CE).

Compound of 高 (taka, “high”) +‎ 天の原 (ama no hara, “plains of heaven”), with the final -a of taka dropped due to haplology.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) たかまの​はら [tàkámá nóꜜ hàrà] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [ta̠ka̠ma̠ no̞ ha̠ɾa̠]

Noun

高天原(たかまのはら) • (takama no hara) 

1. the sky, heavens
2. (Japanese mythology, Shinto) Takamagahara (the realm of the gods, as opposed to the realm of mortals and the realm of the dead)

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese.

Compound of 高 (taka, “high”) +‎ 天 (ama, “heaven”) +‎ が (ga, archaic attributive or possessive particle) +‎ 原 (hara, “plain”), with the final -a of taka dropped due haplology.

Because there is no additional kanji (such as 之 or 乃) attested in the compound to demonstrate a particle, both が (ga) and の (no) are interchangeable.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) たかまが​はら [tàkámá gáꜜ hàrà] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [ta̠ka̠ma̠ ɡa̠ ha̠ɾa̠]

Noun

高天原(たかまがはら) • (takama ga hara) 

1. Same as たかまのはら (takama no hara) above

See also

• 葦原(あしはら)の中(なか)つ国(くに) (ashihara no nakatsukuni)
• 根(ね)の堅(かた)洲(す)国(くに) (ne no katasu kuni)
• 黄泉(よみ) (yomi)
• 高天(こうてん) (kōten)