TongTong
Sign in

苍天 (cāng tiān) — the blue sky, the heavens; Heaven (as a personified force of fate or justice)

Definition

A literary word for 'the blue sky / the heavens,' often personified as a force of fate or justice (as in 苍天不负有心人 'Heaven helps the diligent'). Far more formal and emotive than the everyday 天.

noun
the blue skythe heavensHeaven (as a personified force of fate or justice)

Examples

  • 苍天，。
    cāng tiān Bú fù yǒu xīn rén, tā zhōng yú chéng gōng le.
    Heaven helps those who help themselves; he finally succeeded.
  • ，苍天。
    Tái tóu wàng qù, cāng tiān liáo kuò wú biān.
    Looking up, the blue sky is vast and boundless.
  • ：‘苍天，？’
    Tā yǎng tiān cháng tàn: 'cāng tiān a, wèi hé rú cǐ bù gōng?'
    He looked up to the sky and sighed: 'Heavens, why so unfair?'

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.

苍cāngdeep blue
天tiānsky

苍 describes a deep blue color, and 天 is sky, together meaning the blue 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蒼; 苍 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng蒼cāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 蒼 pairs 艸 (grass) with 倉 as a sound part. The simplified 苍 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 苍 →

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 →
Appears in
Sky & Space

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.