天堂 (tiān táng) — heaven; paradise | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

天堂 is the afterlife paradise — a religious 'heaven' or any blissful place (a resort 简直是人间的∼). Compare 天上 (the physical sky above) and 乐园 (any happy place, often a theme park).

noun

heavenparadise

Examples

天堂。
Qián chéng de xìn tú xī wàng sǐ hòu néng qù tiān táng.
Devout believers hope to go to heaven after death.
天堂。
Zhè ge dù jià cūn jiǎn zhí shì rén jiān tiān táng.
This resort is truly a paradise on earth.
天堂。
Tā cóng bú xìn tiān táng huò dì yù.
He has never believed in heaven or hell.

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 (heaven) and 堂 (hall) together evoke a dwelling place in the sky.

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

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.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng堂táng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Religion & Belief 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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