The Chinese word 天皇 (tiānhuáng) is a compound noun formed by combining the character 天 (tiān), meaning "heaven" or "the sky," with 皇 (huáng), meaning "sovereign" or "emperor." This formation follows the common Chinese lexical pattern of modifier (天) + head noun (皇), literally creating the meaning "heavenly sovereign" or "celestial emperor." The term was historically used in East Asian contexts to denote a monarch whose authority was considered divinely ordained or of cosmic origin, and it became the specific title for the Japanese monarchy, translated into English as "Emperor of Japan."