天
てん
heaven; the sky; providence
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
彼は天を仰いだ。
かれはてんをあおいだ。
He looked up at the sky.
天は人の上に人を造らずと言われる。
てんはひとのうえにひとをつくらずといわれる。
It is said that heaven creates no one above another.
ここまで来たら、あとは天に任せるほかない。
ここまできたら、あとはてんにまかせるほかない。
Having come this far, all we can do is leave the rest to heaven.
Common patterns
- 天を仰ぐ
- to look up at the sky (in despair or awe)
- 天に任せる
- to leave it to providence
- 天の恵み
- a blessing from heaven
Memory tip
Read てん as an independent noun: the sky as the seat of fate, not the weather (that is 空 or 天気). The reading あまつ survives only as an archaic prefix in fixed poetic phrases such as 天つ神, so it is not what you want in modern Japanese.
Kanji in this word
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What does 天 mean?