天文

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	language; culture; writing language; culture; writing; formal; literary; gentle
simp. and trad. (天文)		天	文

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Literally, “heavenly patterns”, further defined by Morgan & Chaussende (2019) as "the study of heaven that deals with observation, cosmology (above), observational instruments, star charts, star catalogues, omen interpretation (zhan 占) and omenological record-keeping."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiānwén

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ man⁴

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thiên-vùn
• Eastern Min (BUC): tiĕng-ùng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): thian-bûn

  (Teochew, Peng'im): tiêng¹ bhung⁵ / tiang¹ bhung⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹thi-ven

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiānwén
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tianwún
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-wên²
    • Yale: tyān-wén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianwen
    • Palladius: тяньвэнь (tjanʹvɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ wən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tin¹ man⁴
    • Yale: tīn màhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ man⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ men⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ mɐn²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thiên-vùn
    • Hakka Romanization System: tien^ˊ vun^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tian¹ vun²
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en²⁴ vun¹¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: tiĕng-ùng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰieŋ⁵⁵ ^(Ø-)ŋuŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-bûn
    • Tâi-lô: thian-bûn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tienbuun
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² bun²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ bun²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² bun¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ bun²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ bun²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: tiêng¹ bhung⁵ / tiang¹ bhung⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thieng bûng / thiang bûng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰieŋ³³⁻²³ buŋ⁵⁵/, /tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ buŋ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹thi-ven
    • MiniDict: thi^平 ven
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹thi-ven
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰi⁵⁵ vən²¹/

Noun

天文

1. astronomy
2. (literary) celestial objects (stars, moon etc.); the heavens

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “astronomy”): 地理 (dìlǐ)

Derived terms

• 上知天文，下知地理 (shàng zhī tiānwén, xià zhī dìlǐ)
• 天文儀／天文仪
• 天文單位／天文单位 (tiānwén dānwèi)
• 天文地理
• 天文學／天文学 (tiānwénxué)
• 天文年
• 天文座標／天文座标
• 天文攝影／天文摄影 (tiānwén shèyǐng)
• 天文數字／天文数字 (tiānwén shùzì)
• 天文時／天文时
• 天文望遠鏡／天文望远镜
• 天文物理學／天文物理学 (tiānwén wùlǐxué)
• 天文生 (tiānwénshēng)
• 天文臺／天文台 (tiānwéntái)
• 天文鐘／天文钟
• 天文館／天文馆 (tiānwénguǎn)
• 天文點／天文点 (Tiānwéndiǎn)
• 太空天文臺／太空天文台
• 射電天文學／射电天文学
• 巴洛馬天文臺／巴洛马天文台
• 格林威治天文臺／格林威治天文台

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (天文):

• → Japanese: 天文(てんもん) (tenmon); 天文(てんぶん) (tenbun)
• → Korean: 천문(天文) (cheonmun)
• → Vietnamese: thiên văn (天文)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
天	文
てん Grade: 1	もん Grade: 1
on'yomi	goon

From Old Japanese, in turn from Middle Chinese 天文 (MC then mjun, literally “heavens + patterns”). Compare modern Cantonese reading tin¹ man⁴.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) てんもん [tèńmóń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞mːõ̞ɴ]

Noun

天(てん)文(もん) • (tenmon) 

1. (colloquial) astronomy

   Synonym: (more formal) 天文学 (tenmongaku)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 天(てん)文(もん)学(がく) (tenmongaku): astronomy
• 天(てん)文(もん)方(かた) (tenmonkata): (historical) an official government position during the Edo period, responsible for astronomy, calendars, and measurements, among other matters
• 天(てん)文(もん)航(こう)法(ほう) (tenmon kōhō): astronomical navigation, navigating by the stars
• 天(てん)文(もん)時(じ) (tenmonji): astronomical time
• 天(てん)文(もん)台(だい) (tenmondai): astronomical observatory
• 天(てん)文(もん)単(たん)位(い) (tenmon tan'i): astronomical unit, AU
• 天(てん)文(もん)潮(ちょう) (tenmonchō): astronomical tide
• 天(てん)文(もん)道(どう) (tenmondō): (historical) an ancient area of study of the movements of heavenly bodies and their influence on events, similar to astrology
• 天(てん)文(もん)時(ど)計(けい) (tenmon-dokei): astronomical clock
• 天(てん)文(もん)博(はか)士(せ) (tenmon hakase): (historical) an official government position in the Ritsuryō system, responsible for astronomy, calendars, and the training of astronomers
• 天(てん)文(もん)薄(はく)明(めい) (tenmon hakumei): astronomical twilight

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
天	文
てん Grade: 1	ぶん Grade: 1
on'yomi	kan'on

From Middle Chinese 天文 (MC then mjun, literally “heavens + patterns”). Likely a later borrowing. Compare modern Min Nan reading thian-bûn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞mbɯ̟̃ɴ]

Noun

天(てん)文(ぶん) • (tenbun) 

1. (rare, possibly obsolete) astronomy (see the tenmon reading above)

Proper noun

天(てん)文(ぶん) • (Tenbun) 

1. the Tenbun era, 1532–1555

See also

• 享禄(きょうろく) (Kyōroku) (era preceding Tenbun)
• 弘治(こうじ) (Kōji) (era following Tenbun)

Korean

Hanja in this term
天	文

Noun

天文 • (cheonmun) (hangeul 천문)

1. hanja form^? of 천문 (“astronomy”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
天	文

Noun

天文

1. chữ Hán form of thiên văn (“astronomy”).