太阳神 (tài yáng shén) — sun god; Apollo

Definition

Literally 'sun god' — the deity personifying the sun in a mythology, e.g. Apollo in Greek myth. Not a proper name: pair it with a culture or name when translating.

noun

sun godApollo

Measure word · 位

Examples

，太阳神。
Gǔ xī là shén huà zhōng, tài yáng shén shì zhǎng guǎn yì shù hé yīn yuè de shén.
In ancient Greek mythology, Apollo is the god in charge of arts and music.
，太阳神，。
Zài zhōng guó gǔ dài, rén men yě chóng bài tài yáng shén, rèn wéi tā dài lái le guāng míng.
In ancient China, people also worshipped the sun god, believing it brought light.
太阳神，祇。
tài yáng shén Shì tài yáng de huà shēn, zài xǔ duō wén huà zhōng dū yǒu lèi sì de shén qí.
The sun god is the embodiment of the sun, and similar deities exist in many cultures.

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.

太阳sun

太tàigreat阳yángsun

偏正Modifier + head

神shéngod

太阳 names the sun and 神 marks a deity: a god of the sun.

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.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

Open 太 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陽; 阳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fùhill

Sound part声符shēngfú

昜

昜yáng陽yáng

Same sound today

In the traditional form 陽, 阜 shows a hill and 昜 is the older character for the word, tied to sunshine and the sound; simplified 阳 is a later shorthand.

Open 阳 →

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

示示shìgod; deity

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

申shēn神shén

Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

Appears in

Mythology & Folklore Sky & Space