天涯 literally means 'the edge of the sky' and is a poetic noun for a faraway place — far corners of the earth. It often appears in literary or emotional contexts, carrying a sense of vast distance, longing, or separation. You'll see it in the common four-character idiom 天涯海角 (the ends of the earth). Unlike concrete words for 'distant place', 天涯 has an elevated, almost lyrical tone and is rarely used in everyday conversation about physical locations.