tiān

day

sky; heaven

one (一) + great person (大) = sky above all

大 depicts a person with arms outstretched; the line above marks what is over their head — the great expanse of sky. From sky comes the sense of a day's arc and, poetically, heaven.

+
A single horizontal line representing a boundarySemantic
A person standing with arms spread wideSemantic

Words with 天

两重天

liǎng chóng tiān

two entirely different worlds; two contrasting realities

哭天抹泪

kū tiān mǒ lèi

to wail and whine

天天

tiān tiān

every day

天棚

tiān péng

ceiling

天篷

tiān péng

canopy

这天

zhè tiān

this day

这几天

zhè jǐ tiān

the past few days

通天彻地

tōng tiān chè dì

to know all under heaven

连天

lián tiān

reaching the sky

周天

zhōu tiān

Sunday

过街天桥

guò jiē tiān qiáo

skywalk; pedestrian bridge

违天害理

wéi tiān hài lǐ

lit. violating heaven and reason (idiom); immoral character

More characters with 一