GOD    上帝

MOST IMPORTANT DEITY.
Old Chinese Criteria
1. Tiān 天 refers to the - often personified or semi-personified - God of Heaven. 2. Shàng dì 上帝 refers to the highest Sovereign, also identified with the the Highest Ancestor.
黄金貴：古漢語同義詞辨釋詞典
HUANG JINGUI 2006 SACRIFICE 19. 周代有 “ 天 ” 有 “ 帝 ” ，均為至上神，但周人更遵崇 “ 天 ” 。戰國中後期，天的至尊地位被削弱，漢代才又重新確定。 殷人的 “ 帝 ” 始終未能發展成統轄眾神的萬能之主，周人繼承了殷人的 “ 帝 ” 并成為周人的信仰之一。 西漢的天神觀比較混亂，在五帝與上帝之外還出現了一個新的天神 “ 太一 ” ，成為漢代統治者所實際尊奉的上帝神。
Modern Chinese Criteria
上帝 天主 真宰 天帝 天 天神 天公 蒼天 上天 皇天 老天爺 天老爺 rough draft to BEGIN TO identify synonym group members for analysis, based on CL etc. 18.11.2003. CH ／
Hypernym
  • DEITY　SUPERNATURAL CREATURE. (anc: 5/0, child: 8)
  • CREATURE　LIVING THING. (anc: 4/0, child: 3)
  • THING　CONCRETE OBJECT. (anc: 3/0, child: 10)
  • A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages ( BUCK 1988) p. 22.12

  • Vocabulaire européen des philosophies. Dictionnaire des intraduisibles ( CASSIN 2004) p. 320

  • Anthologia sive Florilegium rerum et materiarum selectarum ( LANGIUS 1631) p.

    DEUS

  • 論衡同義詞研究 ( LUNHENG TONGYI 2004) p. 28

  • Woerterbuch der Philosophie. Neue Beitraege zu einer Kritik der Sprache ( MAUTHNER WP 1924) p. II.5

  • Dictionnaire culturel en langue francaise ( REY 2005) p. 56

  • Historisches Woerterbuch der Philosophie ( RITTER 1971-2007) p. 3.721

    GOTT

  • The Encyclopedia of Philosophy ( BORCHERT 2005) p.

  • Handbook of Greek Synonymes, from the French of M. Alex. Pillon, Librarian of the Bibliothèque Royale , at Paris, and one of the editors of the new edition of Plaché's Dictionnaire Grec-Français, edited, with notes, by the Rev. Thomas Kerchever Arnold, M.A. Rector of Lyndon, and late fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge ( PILLON 1850) p. no.255

    • Words (19 items)

    天  tiān OC: lʰiin MC: then 57 Attributions

    Tiān 天 refers to the - often personified or semi-personified - God of Heaven.

      Word relations
    • Result: 命/DECREE Mìng 命 (later often replaced by lìng 令) refers to any published royal or imperial order, or order of the day. See also COMMAND
    • Epithet: 命/DECREE Mìng 命 (later often replaced by lìng 令) refers to any published royal or imperial order, or order of the day. See also COMMAND
    • Epithet: 殃 / 央/DISASTER Yāng 殃 always refers to major natural disasters, often construed as causes by human misdemeanour, or by a failure to take preventive action.
    • Epithet: 時/SEASON The general term for a season is shí 時, and the primary seasons are chūn 春 and qiū 秋, in Warring States times the names of the Four Seasons became current.
    • Epithet: 道/METHOD Dào 道 is a way of being, of functioning, as well as a way of doing things, and this Way may be either exoteric or esoteric.
    • Oppos: 人/HUMAN The dominant term is rén 人 which refers to any human.

      Syntactic words
    • nab.adNendowed by Heaven/God
    • nabpersonifiedGod of Heaven, personified Heaven (note personification in 天之愛民
    天地  tiān dì OC: lʰiin lils MC: then di 36 Attributions

      Syntactic words
    • NPfigurativea high deity like the deities (of) Heaven and (of) EarthCH
    • NPplural, personifiedthe pair of deities of Heaven and Earth; the pair of Heaven and Earth as agents
    • VPiact like the deities of Heaven and Earth; embody the virtues of divine Heaven and divine EarthCH
    皇天  huáng tiān OC: ɡʷaaŋ lʰiin MC: ɦɑŋ then 24 Attributions

      Word relations
    • Assoc: 后土/GOD
    • Assoc: 上帝/GOD Shàng dì 上帝 refers to the highest Sovereign, also identified with the the Highest Ancestor.

      Syntactic words
    • NPprpersonifiedSovereign Heaven
    上帝  shàng dì OC: ɡljaŋs k-leeɡs MC: dʑi̯ɐŋ tei 19 Attributions

    Shàng dì 上帝 refers to the highest Sovereign, also identified with the the Highest Ancestor.

      Word relations
    • Object: 祭/SACRIFICE The most general word for making sacrificial offerings of wine and food to spirits of Heaven, of Earth and to the ancestors (perhaps primarily to the spirits of Earth and of the ancestors) is jì 祭 which has become the most common word in Warring States times, replacing sì 祀, which was more common in SHU and SHI.
    • Assoc: 皇天/GOD

      Syntactic words
    • NP{vadN}singularthe highest (non-ancestral) god　（＝昊天？）
    帝  dì OC: k-leeɡs MC: tei 10 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • nsovereign; high deity
    • nadNgod'sLZ
    • nprOBI 4: God, the head of the Shāng pantheon, in control of wind, rain, harvests, disasters, approval of settlement decisions etc.;
    • vibe like a di4-god
    昊天  hào tiān MC: hawX then OC: ɡuuʔ lʰiin 8 Attributions

      Word relations
    • Oppos: 我/EGO Wǒ 我 is contrastive and emphatic by Warring States times (in OBI it was not yet in opposition to wú 吾 and was the standard unmarked pronoun during earlier stages of the language). The word freely occurs in subject, mofifying, and object position and often has an idiomatic meaning like "I for my part" and the formal slightly depersonalised "our party". NB: The word also serves as an impersonal pronoun meaning "one", German man, French on.

      Syntactic words
    • NPprvocativeAugust Heaven!CH
    • nprAugust HeavenCH
    天帝  tiān dì MC: then tejH OC: lʰiin k-leeɡs 7 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPprSovereign of HeavenCH
    太帝  tài dì MC: thajH tejH OC: thaads k-leeɡs 5 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPprGreat DiCH
    天師  tiān shī OC: lʰiin sril MC: then ʂi 4 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPprdivinethe Celestial Master [the high god 天君 insofar as he acts as a teacher?]
    神君  shén jūn OC: ɢljin klun MC: ʑin ki̯un 2 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPa god
    后土  hòu tǔ OC: ɡooʔ kh-laaʔ MC: ɦu thuo̝ 1 Attribution

      Syntactic words
    • NPprSovereign Earth
    后帝  hòu dì OC: ɡooʔ k-leeɡs MC: ɦu tei 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • NPprSovereign God
    天一  tiān yī MC: then 'jit OC: lʰiin qliɡ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • nab=太一　成玄英疏：“大一，天也。” 亦指北极神。　also refers to the god of the North Pole.CH
    天君  tiān jūn MC: then kjun OC: lʰiin klun 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • NPprLord in Heaven　太平經：故名天君，尊无上。CH
    九天君  jiǔ tiān jūn MC: kjuwX then kjun OC: kuʔ lʰiin klun 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • NPprLord of the Nine HeavensCH
    上  shàng OC: ɡljaŋs MC: dʑi̯ɐŋ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • v[adN]The Sovereign on High 上帝
    皇虛  huáng xū MC: hwang -- OC: ɡʷaaŋ qhla 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • NPprSovereign Emptiness 皇虚:指至高神天君。天君积气而无形，故称其为皇虚.CH
    天主  tiān zhǔ OC: lʰiin tjoʔ MC: then tɕi̯o 0 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPChristian Chinese: God
      Click here to add pinyin MC:  OC: 0 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPprSovereign of HeavenCH