# 天眼
## Chinese
### Etymology

Calque of Sanskrit दिव्यचक्षुस् (divyacakṣus) or Pali dibbacakkhu.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): tiānyǎn
    (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧㄢˇ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): tin$^1$ ngaan$^5$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: tiānyǎn
*** Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧㄢˇ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: tianyǎn
*** Wade–Giles: tʻien$^1$-yen$^3$
*** Yale: tyān-yǎn
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianyean
*** Palladius: тяньянь (tjanʹjanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: tin$^1$ ngaan$^5$
*** Yale: tīn ngáahn
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tin$^1$ ngaan$^5$
*** Guangdong Romanization: tin$^1$ ngan$^5$
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰiːn⁵⁵ ŋaːn¹³/
*** Homophones: $^{edit}$天目 天眼

### Noun

天眼
* (Buddhism) divine eye
* (colloquial) closed-circuit television; surveillance camera
** 2019 November 7, Headline Daily, 澳門明年選取100支「天眼」展開人臉識別測試 (Macau will Choose 100 CCTVs to Test Facial Recognition System)‎:
       Àomén jǐngchá zǒngjú qiángdiào, zài zhǎnkāi rénliǎn shíbié jìshù yìngyòng cèshì qián, huì xiàng gèrén zīliào bǎohù bàngōngshì zhēngxún yìjiàn, quèbǎo “tiānyǎn” kuàisù yǒuxiào fǔzhù jǐngfāng dǎjī fànzuì tóngshí, yì néng ràng shìmín sīyǐn dédào yǒuxiào de bǎozhàng. [Pinyin]
       The Unitary Police Service stressed that before facial recognition technology testing, they will consult opinions from the Office for Personal Data Protection, such that while CCTVs' can be used to quickly and effectively help the police to fight crimes, privacy of citizens will be effectively respected.

#### Synonyms

* (divine eye): 天目 (tiānmù)
* (surveillance camera):
* 攝像頭 / 摄像头 (shèxiàngtóu)
* 攝影機 / 摄影机 (shèyǐngjī)
* 監控 / 监控 (jiānkòng) (short form)
* 監控攝像頭 / 监控摄像头 (jiānkòng shèxiàngtóu)
* 監視器 / 监视器 (jiānshìqì)
* 監視攝影機 / 监视摄影机 (jiānshì shèyǐngjī)
* 電子眼 / 电子眼 (diànzǐyǎn)
* 電眼 / 电眼 (tiān-gán) (Hokkien, figurative)

#### Derived terms

* 天眼通

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 天眼(てんげん) (tengen); 天眼(てんがん) (tengan)
* → Korean: 천안(天眼) (cheonan)

### Further reading

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

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 眼 |
| てん Grade: 1 | げん Grade: 5 |
| on'yomi ||
From Middle Chinese 天眼 (MC then ngeanX).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) てんげん [tèńgéń] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [tẽ̞ŋɡẽ̞ɴ]

#### Noun

天(てん)眼(げん) • (tengen)
* (esoteric Buddhism) heavenly sight by heavenly beings
* (esoteric Buddhism) short for 天眼通 (tengentsū): knowledge of others' karma: one of the six kinds of abhijñā or “direct knowledge”

##### Derived terms

* 天(てん)眼(げん)通(つう) (tengentsū, “knowledge of others' karma: one of the six kinds of abhijñā or “direct knowledge””)

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 眼 |
| てん Grade: 1 | がん Grade: 5 |
| on'yomi ||
The literal eye sense and sight sense are likely a coinage within Japanese based on Middle Chinese-derived elements 天 (ten, “heaven, heavenly”, also used in reference to the emperor) + 眼 (gan, “eye”).
The Buddhist sense is likely a sound shift from tengen above, adopting the kan'on reading of gan for the 眼 character.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) てんがん [tèńgáń] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [tẽ̞ŋɡã̠ɴ]

#### Noun

天(てん)眼(がん) • (tengan)
* the eye of the emperor or imperial prince
* (in compounds) sight of something not usually visible to the naked eye
* (esoteric Buddhism) see the tengen reading above for additional senses

##### Derived terms

* 天(てん)眼(がん)鏡(きょう) (tengankyō, “a magnifying glass; (archaic) a telescope”)
* 天(てん)眼(がん)通(つう) (tengantsū, “knowledge of others' karma: one of the six kinds of abhijñā or “direct knowledge””)

### References

* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
   * Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN