天が下
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 天 | 下 |
| あめ Grade: 1 | した Grade: 1 |
| kun’yomi | |
Etymology
Compound of 天 (ame, “heaven, heavens”) + が (ga, Old Japanese possessive particle between two nouns) + 下 (shita, “under, beneath”).[1]
Arose as the native Japanese kun'yomi for Middle Chinese compound 天下 (*ten *ha).[1] Compare also Japanese 天下 (tenka), modern Mandarin 天下 (tiānxià).
Generally superseded by the term 天の下 (ame no shita), using the more modern possessive particle の (no).
Pronunciation
- Kun'yomi
- IPA(key): [a̠me̞ ŋa̠ ɕi̥ta̠]
Noun
天が下 (hiragana あめがした, rōmaji ame ga shita)
- Alternative form of 天の下: the whole world, under heaven; the people of the country or nation; the imperial court; the administration, the government; all of Japan
Idioms
- 天が下知る (あめがしたしる, ame ga shita shiru): “to know the lands under heaven” → to control all of Japan, to reign supreme
Synonyms
- 天下 (てんか, tenka)
- 天の下 (あめのした, ame no shita)
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan