天仙 (tiān xiān) — heavenly immortal (in Chinese mythology); (figurative) goddess, stunningly beautiful woman

Definition

A 'heavenly immortal' from Chinese mythology; used figuratively for a stunningly beautiful woman. In everyday talk, calling someone 天仙 is a stronger compliment than just saying they are 漂亮.

noun
heavenly immortal (in Chinese mythology)(figurative) goddessstunningly beautiful woman
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，天仙。
    Chuán shuō zhōng, tiān xiān zhù zài tiān shàng.
    In legends, heavenly immortals live in the sky.
  • 天仙。
    Tā cháng dé xiàng tiān xiān yí yàng měi.
    She is as beautiful as a goddess.
  • 天仙。
    Tā shì wǒ xīn zhōng de tiān xiān.
    She is the goddess in my heart.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

天tiānheaven
仙xiānimmortal

天 gives heaven and 仙 means immortal, together naming a heavenly immortal.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

仙 pairs 亻 (person) with 山 (mountain), showing a person moving into a mountain to become immortal; 山 also gives the sound.

Open 仙 →

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