Chinese word

上帝

Pronunciation

Pinyinshàng dì

Meaning

  • nounGod

Example

我相信上帝。wǒ xiāng xìn shàng dì

I believe in God.

Illustration for 上帝 (God)

More examples

他们在礼拜时赞美上帝。tā men zài lǐ bài shí zàn měi shàng dì

They praise God during worship.

Core concept

The supreme divine ruler addressed in worship and prayer.

Common phrases

  • 感谢上帝gǎn xiè shàng dì

    thank God

  • 赞美上帝zàn měi shàng dì

    praise God

  • 呼求上帝hū qiú shàng dì

    call on God

Similar words

神shén: A supernatural deity believed in and worshiped by followers of a religion.
天主tiān zhǔ: A Catholic term for God used in prayers and religious worship.

Definition in Chinese

用于指代至高的神明或主宰者，多出现在祷告、礼拜或宗教讲话中，并作为西方一神教神的中文译称。yòng yú zhǐ dài zhì gāo de shén míng huò zhú zái zhě duō chū xiàn zài dǎo gào lǐ bài huò zōng jiào jiǎng huà zhōng bìng zuò wéi xī fāng yì shén jiào shén de zhōng wén yì chēng

Word origin

上 (shàng, "above") + 帝 (dì, "sovereign") forms a traditional title for the highest divine ruler and later became an established Chinese rendering of the God of Western monotheism.

Usage tips

  • Chinese writing has no uppercase letters, so religious status is shown by vocabulary and context rather than by the capitalization used for divine names in English.

Other meanings

  • the Lordnoun

Opposites

  • 无神主义wú shén zhǔ yìatheismnoun

Word lists with this word