天

tiān

一 + 大

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

tiān (noun) sky; heaven

tiān (noun) day

Etymology

Depicts a person (大) with an emphasized head. Based on the original meaning "head". The meaning later shifted to "top", "high", and "sky".

About

天 is formed by the horizontal stroke 一 placed on top of 大, a character depicting a person with arms and legs outstretched. The original composition emphasized the head, giving the meaning "head", the highest point of the body. This meaning shifted to the spatial concepts of "top" and "high", then came to denote the sky, heavens, and the natural world above. Over time, it also acquired the meaning "day", since the sun's journey across the sky defined the daily cycle.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

今天天气很好。

Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo.

Today the weather is very good.

天空是蓝色的。

Tiānkōng shì lán sè de.

The sky is blue.

我们天天去学校。

Wǒmen tiāntiān qù xuéxiào.

We go to school every day.

明天我要去北京。

Míngtiān wǒ yào qù Běijīng.

Tomorrow I will go to Beijing.

夏天很热，冬天很冷。

Xiàtiān hěn rè, dōngtiān hěn lěng.

Summer is very hot, winter is very cold.

天气预报说今天有雨。

Tiānqì yùbào shuō jīntiān yǒu yǔ.

The weather forecast says it will rain today.

他每天学习到深夜。

Tā měi tiān xuéxí dào shēnyè.

He studies until late at night every day.

天文学是一门有趣的科学。

Tiānwénxué shì yī mén yǒuqù de kēxué.

Astronomy is an interesting science.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 一

Component: 大

Example Words