普天之下 (pǔ tiān zhī xià) — the whole world; all under heaven; everywhere

Definition

A classical idiom meaning 'everywhere under heaven' — the whole world, everyone. Reads as formal/literary, so use it in writing or speeches, not casual speech.

idiom
the whole worldall under heaveneverywhere

Examples

  • 普天之下，。
    pǔ tiān zhī xià, Méi yǒu yí piàn tǔ dì néng duǒ guò zhàn zhēng de yīn yǐng.
    Nowhere in the whole world can a piece of land escape the shadow of war.
  • 普天之下。
    Tā xiāng xìn pǔ tiān zhī xià de dào lǐ shì xiāng tōng de.
    He believes that the principles under heaven are universal.
  • 普天之下，。
    pǔ tiān zhī xià Zhī rén, jiē yǒu zhuī qiú xìng fú de quán lì.
    All people under heaven have the right to pursue happiness.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

  • 並並bìngside by side
  • 日日rìsun

普 is made of 日 (sun) and 並 (side by side).

Open 普 →

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.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

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