Looking up...
the sky or heavens; the firmament
天上有很多星星。
There are many stars in the sky.
Often used in poetic or literary contexts to describe the sky.
day; daylight
白天和黑夜。
Day and night.
Commonly paired with '夜' (night) to form '白天' (daytime).
weather; climate
明天的天气怎么样？
What will the weather be like tomorrow?
Often used in phrases like '天气' (weather).
a day (as a unit of time)
他三天没来上班了。
He hasn’t come to work for three days.
Used in time expressions like '一天' (one day), '两天' (two days).
heaven; God; the divine
老天保佑你！
May heaven bless you!
Common in religious or superstitious contexts.
nature; natural forces
顺天应人。
Follow the will of heaven and the people.
Often used in classical Chinese or idiomatic expressions.
'天' (tiān) refers to the sky, heaven, or weather, while '日' (rì) specifically means 'sun' or 'day' as a unit of time. For example, '今天' (jīntiān) means 'today,' where '天' refers to the day, not the sky.
When '天' is used to indicate a day (e.g., '三天' = 'three days'), it is often paired with a number or a measure word like '个' (ge). For example, '一天' (yī tiān) = 'one day,' '两天' (liǎng tiān) = 'two days.'
天 (tiān) originates from the oracle bone script (甲骨文) and bronze inscriptions (金文), where it depicted a person with a large head, symbolizing the sky or heaven as a vast, divine entity above. Over time, its meaning expanded to include natural phenomena like weather and daylight.
天 is a fundamental character in Chinese and appears in countless idioms and phrases. It is often paired with other characters to form compound words (e.g., 天气, 天空). In classical Chinese, it can also represent the concept of 'heaven' as a moral or cosmic force.