Chinese word

天下

Pronunciation

Pinyintiān xià

Meaning

  • nounworld

Example

现在天下变化太快了。xiàn zài tiān xià biàn huà tài kuài le

The world is changing too fast now.

Illustration for 天下 (world)

More examples

坏消息很快传遍天下。huài xiāo xī hěn kuài chuán biàn tiān xià

Bad news quickly spread throughout the world.

Core concept

The broad human world where people live together and public life takes place.

Common phrases

  • 传遍天下chuán biàn tiān xià

    spread throughout the world

  • 统治天下tǒng zhì tiān xià

    rule the world

Similar words

社会shè huì: The organized community of people and groups and the relationships among them.
世界shì jiè: The earth and the many countries, regions, and events within it.

Definition in Chinese

天下 指世间或社会，着重指人们共同生活和公共事务的范围。tiān xià zhǐ shì jiān huò shè huì zhuó zhòng zhǐ rén men gòng tóng shēng huó hé gōng gòng shì wù de fàn wéi

Word origin

The compound 天 (tiān, "sky") + 下 (xià, "below") first described the realm beneath the sky and later extended to the shared human and political sphere.

Usage tips

  • Its wide scope suits formal or historical discussion, while casual speech often uses narrower wording for a particular community, place, or issue.

Other meanings

  • societynoun

Word lists with this word