# 天皇
## Chinese

* 天皇

### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “what is etymology of Chinese sense?”)

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): tiānhuáng
    (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄤˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): tin$^1$ wong$^4$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thian-hông
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: tiānhuáng
*** Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄤˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: tianhuáng
*** Wade–Giles: tʻien$^1$-huang$^2$
*** Yale: tyān-hwáng
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianhwang
*** Palladius: тяньхуан (tjanʹxuan)
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: tin$^1$ wong$^4$
*** Yale: tīn wòhng
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tin$^1$ wong$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: tin$^1$ wong$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰiːn⁵⁵ wɔːŋ²¹/
*** Homophones: $^{edit}$天王 天皇
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-hông
*** Tâi-lô: thian-hông
*** Phofsit Daibuun: tienhoong
*** IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² hɔŋ²⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ hɔŋ²⁴/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² hɔŋ¹³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔŋ²⁴/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔŋ²³/
* Middle Chinese: then hwang
Rime :
| Character | 天 | 皇 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 透 (6) | 匣 (33) |
| Final (韻) | 先 (85) | 唐 (102) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Closed |
| Division (等) | IV | I |
| Fanqie | 他前切 | 胡光切 |
| Baxter | then | hwang |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /tʰen/ | /ɦwɑŋ/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /tʰen/ | /ɦʷɑŋ/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /tʰɛn/ | /ɣuɑŋ/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /tʰɛn/ | /ɦwaŋ/ |
| Li Rong | /tʰen/ | /ɣuɑŋ/ |
| Wang Li | /tʰien/ | /ɣuɑŋ/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /tʰien/ | /ɣwɑŋ/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | tiān | huáng |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | tin$^1$ | wong$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ˤi[n] [ɢ]ʷˤaŋ/
    (Zhengzhang): /*qʰl'iːn ɡʷaːŋ/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 天 | 皇 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | tiān | huáng |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ then › | ‹ hwang › |
| Old Chinese | /*l̥ˁi[n]/ | /*[ɢ]ʷˁaŋ/ |
| English | heaven | sovereign |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 天 | 皇 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 12387 | 12696 |
| Phonetic component | 天 | 王 |
| Rime group | 眞 | 陽 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 天 | 黃 |
| Old Chinese | /*qʰl'iːn/ | /*ɡʷaːŋ/ |
| Notes | | 禮王制鄭注冕屬， 金文象羽冠，王聲；或雲象日射輝則爲暀晃初文 |

### Noun

天皇
* king of heaven; heavenly sovereign; (figurative) emperor
* emperor or empress (regnant) of Japan

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 天皇(てんのう) (tennō); 天皇(てんこう) (tenkō)
* → Korean: 천황(天皇) (cheonhwang)
* → Vietnamese: thiên hoàng (天皇)

### Further reading

* Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “天皇” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |
| てん Grade: 1 | おう > のう Grade: 6 |
| goon ||
/ten wau/ → /tenwɔː/ → /tenːɔː/ → /tenːoː/
From Middle Chinese 天皇 (MC then hwang) with the original sense of “heavenly sovereign”.
The 呉音 (goon, literally “Wu sound”) pronunciation, so likely the initial borrowing from Middle Chinese. The ō reading for 皇 changes to nō as an instance of renjō (連声).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) てんのー [tèńnóꜜò] (Nakadaka – [3])
* IPA: [tẽ̞nːo̞ː]

#### Noun

天(てん)皇(のう) • (tennō)
* an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan
    Synonyms: 内の上 (uchi no ue), 皇天 (kōten), 内裏 (dairi), 天子 (tenshi), 帝 (mikado)
    天(てん)皇(のう)陛(へい)下(か) ― tennō Heika ― Your/His Majesty the Emperor/Her Majesty the Empress (Regnant)
    明(めい)治(じ)天(てん)皇(のう) ― Meiji tennō ― Emperor Meiji
** 1889, Imperial Diet of Japan, “1, article 1”, in Meiji Constitution:
    大日本帝國(だいにっぽんていこく)ハ萬世一系(ばんせいいっけい)ノ天皇(てんのう)之(の)ヲ統治(とうち)ス
       Dainipponteikoku wa banseīkkei no tennō no o tōchi su
       The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal.
* (usually in Chinese contexts) an emperor, ruler, or other monarch with a heavenly mandate
    Synonym: 天子 (tenshi)
* (by extension) a person having a strength or profession in a particular field of study or expertise

##### Coordinate terms

* 皇(こう)帝(てい) (kōtei, “emperor”, other than the Emperor of Japan)
* 大(おお)君(きみ) (ōkimi)

##### Derived terms

* 天(てん)皇(のう)旗(き) (Tennōki)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)記(き) (Tennōki)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)賞(しょう) (Tennōshō)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)機(き)関(かん)説(せつ) (Tennō kikansetsu)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)制(せい) (Tennōsei)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)誕(たん)生(じょう)日(び) (Tennō Tanjōbi)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)杯(はい) (Tennōhai)
* 天(てん)皇(のう)陛(へい)下(か) (Tennō Heika)
* 今(きん)上(じょう)天(てん)皇(のう) (Kinjō Tennō)
* 大(たい)行(こう)天(てん)皇(のう) (taikō tennō)
* 太(だい)上(じょう)天(てん)皇(のう) (daijō tennō), 太(だ)上(じょう)天(てん)皇(のう) (dajō tennō)
* 追(つい)尊(そん)天(てん)皇(のう) (tsuison tennō)

##### Descendants

* → English: tenno, Tenno, Tennou
* → English: God Emperor (calque)
* → German: Tenno, Tennou
* → Italian: tenno

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |
| てん Grade: 1 | こう Grade: 6 |
| kan'on ||
/ten kʷau/ → /tenkʷɔː/ → /tenkɔː/ → /tenkoː/
From Middle Chinese 天皇 (MC then hwang).
The 漢音 (kan'on, literally “Han sound”) pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing from Middle Chinese.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) てんこー [tèńkóꜜò] (Nakadaka – [3])
* IPA: [tẽ̞ŋko̞ː]

#### Noun

天(てん)皇(こう) • (tenkō)
* (usually in Chinese contexts) an emperor, ruler, or other monarch with a heavenly mandate
    Synonym: 天子 (tenshi)

#### Proper noun

天(てん)皇(こう) • (Tenkō)
* (Chinese mythology) the first of the Three Sovereigns, possibly 伏羲 (Fukki, “Fu Xi”)

##### Related terms

* 地(ち)皇(こう) (Chikō, the second)
* 人(じん)皇(こう) (Jinkō, the third)

### Etymology 3

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |
| すべらぎ ||
| Grade: 1 | Grade: 6 |
| jukujikun ||
* Alternative spelling
* 皇
/sumeraɡi/ → /suberaɡi/
Shift from sumeragi below, with the nasal /m/ becoming a plosive /b/.
The kanji spelling is from tennō above.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [sɨbe̞ɾa̠ɡʲi]

#### Noun

天皇(すべらぎ) • (suberagi)
* (archaic) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan

##### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:天皇.

##### Derived terms

* 皇(すべらぎ)の花(はな) (suberagi no hana)
* 今(いま)皇(すべらぎ) (ima suberagi)
* 法(のり)の皇(すべらぎ) (nori no suberagi)

### Etymology 4

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |
| すめらぎ ||
| Grade: 1 | Grade: 6 |
| jukujikun ||
* Alternative spelling
* 皇
⟨sume$_1$ro$_2$ki$_1$⟩ → */sumʲerəkʲi/ → */sumeraki/ → /sumeraɡi/
Possibly a shift from Old Japanese 天皇 (sume$_1$ro$_2$ki$_1$).
The kanji spelling is from tennō above.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [sɨme̞ɾa̠ɡʲi]

#### Noun

天皇(すめらぎ) • (sumeragi)
* (honorific, archaic) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan

##### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:天皇.

##### Derived terms

* 皇(すめらぎ) (Sumeragi)

### Etymology 5

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |
| すめらぎみ ||
| Grade: 1 | Grade: 6 |
| jukujikun ||
From 皇 (sumera-, prefix of praise and respect) +‎ 君 (kimi, “lord, master → sovereign”). The kimi changes to gimi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
The kanji spelling is from tennō above.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [sɨme̞ɾa̠ɡʲimʲi]

#### Noun

天皇(すめらぎみ) • (sumeragimi)
* (honorific, archaic) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan

##### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:天皇.

### Etymology 6

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |
| すめらみこと ||
| Grade: 1 | Grade: 6 |
| jukujikun ||
* Alternative spelling
* 皇尊
From Old Japanese.
From 皇 (sumera-, prefix of praise and respect) +‎ 尊 (mikoto, “Highness”).
The kanji spelling is from tennō above.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [sɨme̞ɾa̠mʲiko̞to̞]

#### Noun

天皇(すめらみこと) • (sumeramikoto)
* (honorific, archaic) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan
    始(はつ)馭天下之(くにしらす)天皇(すめらみこと)
       Hatsu Kunishirasu Sumeramikoto
       the First Founding Emperor

##### Derived terms

* 大(おお)倭(やまと)根(ね)子(この)天皇(すめらみこと) (Ōyamatoneko no Sumeramikoto)

### See also

* 園(えん)遊(ゆう)会(かい) (en'yū-kai, “garden party”, (hosted by the emperor))
* 皇(こう)后(ごう) (kōgō, “Empress of Japan”)
* 皇(こう)室(しつ) (kōshitsu, “imperial court, imperial household”)
* 皇(こう)太(たい)子(し) (kōtaishi, “Prince”)
* 皇(こう)太(たい)子(し)妃(ひ) (kōtaishihi, “Princess”)
* 親(しん)王(のう) (shinnō, “Imperial Prince of Japan”)
* 殿(でん)下(か) (Denka, “Your/His/Her Highness”)
* 内(ない)親(しん)王(のう) (naishinnō, “Princess of Japan”)
* 妃(ひ)殿(でん)下(か) (hidenka, “Princess”)
* 宮(みや)家(け) (miyake, “the Prince’s family”)

### References

* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

### Anagrams

* 皇(こう)天(てん) (kōten)

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |

### Noun

天皇 • (cheonhwang) (hangeul 천황)
* hanja form of 천황 (“Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan”)

## Old Japanese
### Etymology 1

Possibly from 皇 (sume$_1$ro$_2$-, apophonic form of sume$_1$ra-, prefix of praise and respect) +‎ 君 (ki$_1$mi$_1$, “lord, master → sovereign”), with the final mi$_1$ dropping due to poetic reasons.
The kanji spelling is an orthographic borrowing from Middle Chinese 天皇 (MC then hwang).

#### Noun

天皇 (sume$_1$ro$_2$ki$_1$) (kana すめろき)
* (honorific) a sovereign who governs a region
* (by extension, honorific) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan
* (by extension) the imperial lineage or family line
* the Emperor's reign

##### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:天皇.

##### Descendants

* Japanese: 天皇 (sumeragi, suberagi)

### Etymology 2

From 皇 (sume$_1$ra-, prefix of praise and respect) +‎ 尊 (mi$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$, “Highness”).
The kanji spelling is an orthographic borrowing from Middle Chinese 天皇 (MC then hwang).

#### Alternative forms

* 皇尊

#### Noun

天皇 (sume$_1$rami$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$) (kana すめらみこと)
* (honorific) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan

##### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:天皇.

##### Derived terms

* 太上天皇 (opoki$_1$-sume$_1$rami$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$)
* 大倭根子天皇 (Opoyamato$_2$neko$_1$ no$_2$ Sume$_1$rami$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$)
* 神日本磐余彦天皇 (Kamuyamato$_2$ Iparepi$_1$ko$_1$ no Sume$_1$rami$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$, “a name of Emperor Jimmu”)
* 始馭天下之天皇 (Patukunisirasu Sume$_1$rami$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$, “another name of Emperor Jimmu”)
* 御肇國天皇 (Patukunisirasu Sume$_1$rami$_1$ko$_2$to$_2$, “a name of Emperor Sujin”)

##### Descendants

* Japanese: 天皇, 皇尊 (sumeramikoto)

### See also

* 大君 (opoki$_1$mi)

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 天 | 皇 |

### Noun

天皇
* chữ Hán form of thiên hoàng (“an Emperor or Empress Regnant of Japan”).
    Synonym: 日皇 (Nhật hoàng)
    天皇明治 (Thiên hoàng Minh Trị)Emperor Meiji