# 上帝
## Chinese
### Etymology
#### Shangdi (the supreme deity in Chinese mythology and folk religion)

    Attested in the Oracle bones, albeit "extraordinarily rare[ly]".

#### God (Christian)

    Identification of the Christian God with the native Shang supreme deity was first advanced by Catholic missionaries, including Matteo Ricci in his The True Meaning of The Lord of Heaven 《天主實義／天主实义》, published in 1595. Despite its Catholic semantic re-adaptation, the regular use of Shangdi to refer to the Christian God is today generally restricted to Protestants; Catholics generally use 天主 (Tiānzhǔ, “Lord of Heaven”) instead.
   * 吾天主，乃古經書所稱上帝也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]吾天主，乃古经书所称上帝也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]From: 天主實義Wú Tiānzhǔ, nǎi gǔ jīngshū suǒ chēng Shàngdì yě. [Pinyin]My Lord of Heaven is He whom they call Shangdi in the ancient classics.

#### customers

    The sense of "customers" is from the phrase 顧客就是上帝/顾客就是上帝 (“the customer is always right”, literally “the customer is the God”).
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): Shàngdì
    (Zhuyin): ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄧˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): soeng$^6$ dai$^3$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): Song-ti / Song-thi
    (Hailu, HRS): shong$^˖$ di$^ˇ$
* Northern Min (KCR): Ciōng-di̿
* Eastern Min (BUC): Siông-dá̤
* Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): syong$^5$ de$^4$ / syeng$^5$ de$^4$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): Siōng-tè / Siāng-tè
    (Teochew, Peng'im): siang$^6$ di$^3$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^6$zaon-ti
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: Shàngdì
*** Zhuyin: ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄧˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: Shàngdì
*** Wade–Giles: Shang$^4$-ti$^4$
*** Yale: Shàng-dì
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shanqdih
*** Palladius: Шанди (Šandi)
*** Sinological IPA : /ʂɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: soeng$^6$ dai$^3$
*** Yale: seuhng dai
*** Cantonese Pinyin: soeng$^6$ dai$^3$
*** Guangdong Romanization: sêng$^6$ dei$^3$
*** Sinological IPA : /sœːŋ²² tɐi̯³³/
* Hakka
** (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Song-ti
*** Hakka Romanization System: song di
*** Hagfa Pinyim: song$^4$ di$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /soŋ⁵⁵ ti⁵⁵/
** (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Song-thi
*** Hakka Romanization System: song ti
*** Hagfa Pinyim: song$^4$ ti$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /soŋ⁵⁵ tʰi⁵⁵/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: shong$^˖$ di$^ˇ$
*** Sinological IPA: /ʃoŋ³³ ti¹¹/
* Northern Min
** (Jian'ou)
*** Kienning Colloquial Romanized: Ciōng-di̿
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡siɔŋ⁵⁵ ti³³/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: Siông-dá̤
*** Sinological IPA : /suoŋ²⁴²⁻⁵³ $^{(t-)}$nɑ²¹³/
* Puxian Min
** (Putian)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: syong$^5$ de$^4$ [Phonetic: syong$^1$ ne$^4$]
*** Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: Siō̤ng-Da̤̍
*** Sinological IPA : /ɬyɒŋ²¹⁻⁵⁵ $^{(t-)}$ne⁴²/
** (Xianyou)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: syeng$^5$ de$^4$ [Phonetic: syeng$^1$ ne$^4$]
*** Sinological IPA : /ɬyøŋ²¹⁻⁵⁵ $^{(t-)}$ne⁴²/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siōng-tè
*** Tâi-lô: Siōng-tè
*** Phofsit Daibuun: sioxngdex
*** IPA (Taipei): /siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ te¹¹/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /siɔŋ⁴¹⁻²² te⁴¹/
*** IPA (Xiamen): /siɔŋ²²⁻²¹ te²¹/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ te²¹/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siāng-tè
*** Tâi-lô: Siāng-tè
*** Phofsit Daibuun: siaxngdex
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /siaŋ²²⁻²¹ te²¹/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: siang$^6$ di$^3$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siăng tì
*** Sinological IPA : /siaŋ³⁵⁻¹¹ ti²¹³/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^6$zaon-ti
*** MiniDict: zaon$^去$ ti
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^3$zaan-ti
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zɑ̃²² ti⁴⁴/
* Middle Chinese: dzyangH tejH
Rime :
| Character | 上 | 帝 |
| Reading # | 2/2 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 常 (25) | 端 (5) |
| Final (韻) | 陽 (105) | 齊 (39) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) | Departing (H) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | IV |
| Fanqie | 時亮切 | 都計切 |
| Baxter | dzyangH | tejH |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /d͡ʑɨɐŋ$^H$/ | /tei$^H$/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /d͡ʑiɐŋ$^H$/ | /tei$^H$/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /d͡ʑiɑŋ$^H$/ | /tɛi$^H$/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /d͡ʑɨaŋ$^H$/ | /tɛj$^H$/ |
| Li Rong | /ʑiaŋ$^H$/ | /tei$^H$/ |
| Wang Li | /ʑĭaŋ$^H$/ | /tiei$^H$/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʑi̯aŋ$^H$/ | /tiei$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | shàng | dì |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | soeng$^6$ | dai$^3$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*daŋʔ-s tˤek-s/
    (Zhengzhang): /*djaŋs teːɡs/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 上 | 帝 |
| Reading # | 3/3 | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | shàng | dì |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ dzyang$^H$ › | ‹ tej$^H$ › |
| Old Chinese | /*daŋʔ-s/ | /*tˁek-s/ |
| English | top, above (n.) | God |
| 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 | 上 | 帝 |
| Reading # | 2/2 | 1/1 |
| No. | 11103 | 2313 |
| Phonetic component | 上 | 帝 |
| Rime group | 陽 | 賜 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 尚 | 帝 |
| Old Chinese | /*djaŋs/ | /*teːɡs/ |
| Notes | | 甲金文象根啇非朿聲 |

### Proper noun

上帝
* 上帝 (Written Standard Chinese)
* Shangdi (English)
* (Chinese mythology, Chinese folk religion) Shangdi (sky deity in Chinese traditional religions)
    From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE
    Suī yǒu èrén, zhāijiè mùyù, zé kě yǐ sì Shàngdì. [Pinyin]
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    From: 1935, Lu Xun, 《理水》
    Kuàngqiě lǎo dàrén huà guò duōshào xīnlì ne. Jiè le Shàngdì de xīrǎng, lái yān hóngshuǐ, suīrán chù le Shàngdì de nǎonù, hóngshuǐ de shēndù kě yě qiǎn le yīdiǎn le. [Pinyin]
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
* (Christianity) God
    上帝保佑女王 ― Shàngdì bǎoyòu Nǚwáng ― God Bless the Queen
    榮耀歸於上帝／荣耀归于上帝 ― róngyào guīyú Shàngdì ― Glory to God alone
       Nǐ xiāngxìn shàngdì ma? [Pinyin]
       Do you believe in God?
    From: 1961, ​Kim Yeong'ik (金永益), 《西敎辨》
    Sangje ji in, i saengsaeng bul gung wi do, gae yu sal cha sok pi, burin bulgong ji sim ya. Yaso pi wi ji Sangje ji aeja, jeuk aeja dae yujoe ja pi sal, i Sangje yeol ji, yeok ha burin bulgong ji sim ya? O ji gi Sangje gyeol mu cha sa. [Sino-Korean]
    Shangdi [God] being most benevolent, He made the inexhaustibility of growth and multiplication as His Way; how could there be Him killing this to redeem that—[that] would be an unbearably unfair intention. As for Jesus, they say he is God's beloved son, so the beloved son has been killed in place of the sinful, and this was pleasing unto God; again, how severe is the lack of benevolence, the unfairness? I know that God would never do such a thing.

#### Synonyms

* (God):
| Branch | Words |
| Protestant | 上帝, 神, 真神 |
| Roman Catholic | 天主, 僚氏 Hokkien, historical |
| Eastern Orthodox | 上帝 |
| Church of the East | 阿羅訶, 天尊, 真主 |
* (Wu) 真神 (Zhēnshén)

#### Derived terms

* 上帝教
* 上帝羔羊 (Shàngdì Gāoyáng)
* 五方上帝
* 拜上帝會 / 拜上帝会 (Bài Shàngdì Huì)
* 玄天上帝 (Xuántiān Shàngdì)
* 玉皇上帝 (Yùhuáng Shàngdì)

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 上帝(じょうてい) (jōtei)
* → Korean: 상제(上帝) (sangje)
* → Vietnamese: Thượng Đế (上帝)

### Noun

上帝
* (obsolete) monarch
* (slang) customer; consumer

### References

* ↑ Chang, Ruth H. (2000) “Understanding Di and Tian: Deity and Heaven from Shang to Tang Dynasties”, in Sino-Platonic Papers‎, number 108, page vi

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 上 | 帝 |
| じょう Grade: 1 | てい Grade: S |
| goon | kan'on |

### Noun

上(じょう)帝(てい) • (jōtei)
* lord, god

### Proper noun

上(じょう)帝(てい) • (Jōtei)
* God, the Creator

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 上 | 帝 |

### Proper noun

上帝 • (Sangje) (hangeul 상제)
* hanja form of 상제 (“God”)

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 上 | 帝 |

### Proper noun

上帝
* chữ Hán form of Thượng Đế (“God”).