Japanese word

天地

Pronunciation

Romajitenchi

Meaning

  • nounheaven and earth

Example

天地がひっくり返るような話です。ten chi ga hi kku ri kae ru yō na hanashi de su

It is a story that could turn heaven and earth upside down.

Illustration for 天地 (heaven and earth)

More examples

古い詩には、天地の広大さをたたえる言葉が残っています。furu i shi ni wa ten chi no kō dai sa o ta ta e ru koto ba ga noko tte i ma su

Old poems contain words praising the vastness of heaven and earth.

Core concept

Encompasses everything from the sky above and the ground below to nature, the universe, and the human world.

Common phrases

  • 天地を揺るがすten chi o yu ru ga su

    shake heaven and earth

  • 天地がひっくり返るten chi ga hi kku ri kae ru

    heaven and earth turn upside down

Similar words

宇宙uchū: The whole of space and all matter and life within it.
世界sekai: The earth considered as the setting for human life and society.
万物banbutsu: Everything that exists, viewed as a complete collection of things.
乾坤kenkon: The sky and the earth referred to in an elevated literary style.

Definition in Japanese

空と大地を含む世界全体を指し、転じて自然界や宇宙、世の中全体を表す語。sora to dai chi o fuku mu se kai zen tai o sa shi ten ji te shi zen kai ya u chū yo no naka zen tai o arawa su go

Word origin

天地 (tenchi) is a Sino-Japanese compound of 天 (ten, "heaven") and 地 (chi, "earth"), joining the sky above with the ground below.

Usage tips

  • 天地無用 (tenchi muyō) appears on packages to mean that the box must not be turned upside down, so 天地 (tenchi) here refers to the package's top and bottom rather than the cosmos.

Other meanings

  • naturenoun
  • the universenoun
  • the worldnoun

Word lists with this word