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Kanji Detail for 天 - "sky, nature"

天

  • Meaning

    天 means "sky, nature." Also associated with ruler of the universe.

    1. Sky - The heavens; the vast sky above.

    2. Ruler of the universe - The supreme being; the controller of all things.

    3. Nature - The natural order; natural principles.

    4. Innate - From birth; natural disposition.

    5. Gods - Deities; also, the realm where they dwell.

    6. Emperor - The sovereign; one who received heaven's mandate.

    7. Weather - Climate; sky conditions.

  • Words using 天

    • 天皇 てんのう Listen Emperor of Japan
    • 天気 てんき Listen weather; fair weather; fine weather
    • 天皇陛下 てんのうへいか Listen His Majesty the Emperor
    • 天井 てんじょう Listen ceiling; ceiling price; (price) ceiling
    • 天然 てんねん Listen nature; spontaneity; natural airhead
    • 天候 てんこう Listen weather
    • 天然ガス てんねんガス Listen natural gas
    • 天国 てんごく Listen paradise; heaven; Kingdom of Heaven

  • Four-character idioms with 天

    • 天下一品 てんかいっぴん Listen beyond compare; peerless; unrivaled
    • 天変地異 てんぺんちい Listen natural disaster; cataclysm
    • 奇想天外 きそうてんがい Listen fantastic; bizarre; incredible
    • 一天万乗 いってんばんじょう Listen the whole realm
    • 一天四海 いってんしかい Listen the world; the universe
    • 三日天下 みっかてんか Listen short-lived rule; being in power only for a brief period; brief championship

  • Origin of 天

    A person standing with arms spread (大) with a stroke drawn above the head: what is over humankind. In the earliest forms the top stroke was a large square head.

    How to remember it: A person 大 with a line drawn above their head — whatever is up there is heaven.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 天

    • Verified meaning: sky, nature
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あおぎ, あま, あまさき, あまざき)
    • Also carries these associations: ruler of the universe

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 天

    Given names 天(あおぎ)Listen 天(あま)Listen 天(あまつ)Listen 天(あまね)Listen 天(あめ)Listen 天(そら)Listen 天(たかし)Listen 天(てぃあら)Listen 天(てん)Listen

    Surnames 天(あまさき)Listen 天(あまざき)Listen 天(てしお)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    heavens; sky; imperial

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    sky, heaven; god, celestial

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    day; sky; heaven

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    sky, heaven; god, celestial

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    The space where stars are arrayed. Vast beyond measure. Because humans are on Earth, they see it as a great sphere surrounding the Earth, opposite to the ground. In reality, the Earth also moves through space, and is a very small part. Anciently, some spoke of nine heavens, others of thirty-six heavens, all speculative theories. | Natural results beyond human power are called 天. Such as 天然 (natural), 天生 (innate). | Religionists call where deities dwell 天. Such as 天國 (kingdom of heaven), 天堂 (paradise). | The day is called 天. Such as the colloquial 今天 (today), 明天 (tomorrow). | Weather and climate are called 天. Such as 熱天 (hot weather), 冷天 (cold weather). | All that is absolutely indispensable is called 天. Such as 食為民天 (food is heaven to the people). Expression from (Book of Han).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ten(テン) テン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    ama(あま) あま

    amatsu(あまつ) あまつ

    ame(あめ) あめ

  • Strokes

    tip

    4 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    大 (dai)

  • Related Keywords

    sky ruler of the universe nature birthright emperor gods innate weather heaven imperial celestial supreme ruler above aerial atmosphere divine ethereal firmament godly lofty majestic majesty monarch

Sentences including 天

  • There is no going out in this stormy weather.

  • It's fine today.

  • People often complain about the weather.

  • Whether permitting , we'll leave tomorrow morning.

  • We shall leave tomorrow , weather permitting.

  • According to the weather report , it will snow tonight.

  • He is a genius in a sense.

  • The weather changed suddenly.

  • Let's take a chance on the weather.

  • He thought that he was a genius.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 大 (dai)

See all kanji with this radical →

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