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天庭 (tiān tíng) — (mythology) heavenly court; celestial palace; (anatomy) middle of the forehead (especially in face reading)

Definition

Two meanings: (1) the 'heavenly court' where deities like the Jade Emperor rule (mythology); (2) the middle of the forehead, a term used in face reading — 'broad 天庭' signals good fortune.

noun
(mythology) heavenly courtcelestial palace(anatomy) middle of the forehead (especially in face reading)

Examples

  • ，天庭。
    Chuán shuō zhōng, tiān tíng shì yù huáng dà dì jū zhù de dì fāng.
    Legend has it that the heavenly court is where the Jade Emperor lives.
  • 天庭，。
    Tā de tiān tíng hěn kuān, kàn qǐ lái hěn yǒu fú qi.
    His forehead is very broad, which makes him look blessed.
  • 天庭。
    Sūn wù kōng dà nào tiān tíng de gù shi dà jiā dōu tīng guò.
    Everyone has heard the story of Sun Wukong wreaking havoc in the heavenly court.

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
庭tíngcourt

天庭 pictures the forehead as a court belonging to the heavenly 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
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 →

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
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
廷
廷tíng庭tíng
Same sound today

庭 combines 广 with 廷. The 廷 part gives the sound, and 广 is the meaning part.

Open 庭 →
Appears in
Mythology & Folklore

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