天
Meanings
- day
- sky
- heaven
Characters in this entry
- 天
- tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1 · tian1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Sentences in context
Exact source-spelling matches. Open the reader for dictionary lookups, construction notes and related examples. Occurrence does not establish a particular dictionary sense.
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 15 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
tin1
Cantonese word readings for 天. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- 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
- (Buddhism, Hinduism) deva, a god in Hinduism and some Buddhist sects
- (Buddhism) devaloka or Heaven, one of the six realms of existence in Buddhism
- top; overhead
- weather; climate
- day (24 hours)
- day (as opposed to night)
- period of time in a day
- season
- nature
- natural; innate
- (Hong Kong) short for 天水圍／天水围 (Tiānshuǐwéi, “Tin Shui Wai”)
character · Etymology 2
- (Hokkien) alternative form of 工 (kang, “day”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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