天

• Pinyin: tiān
• Hanzi breakdown: 天 = pictograph of a person (大) with a line above indicating the sky overhead

Meaning

Day; sky; heaven. Also used as a measure word for counting days.

One of the most common characters in Chinese. As a noun, it means 'sky' or 'day.' As a measure word, it counts days (三天 = three days). Appears in many compounds: 今天 (today), 明天 (tomorrow), 天气 (weather), 天空 (sky).

Examples

1. 今天天气很好。 The weather is great today.
2. 我在北京住了三天。 I stayed in Beijing for three days.
3. 天黑了，我们回家吧。 It's getting dark, let's go home.

Usage Guide

Context: time, nature, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你哪天有时间？(Which day are you free?)
• 今天是星期几？(What day of the week is it today?)

Don't Say

• 我住了三个天。(Wrong measure word usage — say 三天 directly; 天 itself is a measure word for days and does not need 个)

Origin & History

A pictograph of a person with a large head, with the top stroke representing the sky above. The original meaning was 'sky' or 'heaven.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal