天 tiān day
day; sky; nature; fate
How to remember 天: 一 one + 大 big = day. On one big family trip to the beach the kids swim from sunrise to sunset, and nobody wants the day to end.
Component breakdown
天 = 一 one + 大 big
- 一 one
- 大 big
On one big family trip to the beach the kids swim from sunrise to sunset, and nobody wants the day to end.
How it came to be
The oldest form shows a person standing face on, with the head marked at the top, here by two short lines.
How it is used
- 'Day' and 'sky/heaven': 今天 (jīntiān) today, 三天 (sān tiān) three days; 天空 (tiānkōng) the sky.
- For the 24-hour day, 天 is the everyday spoken word (今天, 每天), while 日 (rì) is more formal/written.
- 天气 (tiānqì) is weather; 天 also carries a sense of nature/fate in 天生 (tiānshēng) inborn and 老天 (lǎotiān) the heavens.
Characters built with 天
Words with 天
- 今天jīntiāntodayHSK 1
- 明天míngtiāntomorrowHSK 1
- 天气tiānqìweatherHSK 1
- 昨天zuótiānyesterdayHSK 1
- 星期天xīngqītiānSundayHSK 1
- 白天báitiāndaytimeHSK 1
- 冬天dōngtiānwinterHSK 3
- 前天qiántiānthe day before yesterdayHSK 3
- 半天bàntiāna long time, half a dayHSK 3
- 后天hòutiānthe day after tomorrowHSK 3
- 夏天xiàtiānsummerHSK 3
- 春天chūntiānspring (season)HSK 3
- 秋天qiūtiānautumnHSK 3
- 聊天儿liáotiānrto chat (spoken, erhua)HSK 3
- 天上tiānshàngthe skyHSK 5
- 天空tiānkōngskyHSK 5
- 改天gǎitiānanother dayHSK 5
- 天下tiānxiàland under heavenHSK 6
- 天才tiāncáitalentHSK 6
- 天文tiānwénastronomyHSK 6
- 天然tiānránnaturalHSK 6
- 天然气tiānránqìnatural gasHSK 6
- 天真tiānzhēnnaiveHSK 6
- 当天dàngtiānthe same dayHSK 6
- 先天xiāntiānembryonic period (contrasted with 后天)HSK 7
- 冰天雪地bīngtiān-xuědìa world of ice and snowHSK 7
- 半边天bànbiāntiānhalf the skyHSK 7
- 天使tiānshǐangelHSK 7
- 天分tiānfènnatural giftHSK 7
- 天地tiāndìheaven and earthHSK 7
- 天平tiānpíngscales (to weigh things)HSK 7
- 天性tiānxìngnatureHSK 7
- 天桥tiānqiáoTianqiao district of Jinan city 济南市, ShandongHSK 7
- 天生tiānshēngnatureHSK 7
- 天线tiānxiànantennaHSK 7
- 天花板tiānhuābǎnceiling (of a room)HSK 7
- 天长地久tiāncháng-dìjiǔenduring while the world lasts (idiom)HSK 7
- 惊天动地jīngtiān-dòngdìworld-shakingHSK 7
- 成天chéngtiānall day longHSK 7
- 航天hángtiānspace flightHSK 7
Example sentences
- 一个星期有七天。 Yí gè xīngqī yǒu qī tiān.There are seven days in a week.
- 这时候天黑了。 Zhè shíhou tiān hēi le.The sun went down at this time.
- 我每天经过这家店。 Wǒ měitiān jīngguò zhè jiā diàn.I pass by this shop every day.
- 天完全黑了。 Tiān wánquán hēi le.The sky turned completely dark.