The character 天 — “sky”: how to write it and what it means
sky, day
The Chinese character 天 is read tiān and means “sky, day”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 天
天 has 4 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 天, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 天 is made of
A person 大 with a stroke above the head: the sky.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 天
- 今天todayHSK 1
- 明天tomorrowHSK 1
- 昨天yesterdayHSK 1
- 白天daytimeHSK 1
- 天气weatherHSK 1
- 星期天SundayHSK 1
- 春天springHSK 3
- 夏天summerHSK 3
- 秋天autumnHSK 3
- 冬天winterHSK 3
- 前天day before yesterdayHSK 3
- 后天day after tomorrowHSK 3
- 半天half a day; a long timeHSK 3
- 聊天儿chat, talkHSK 3
- 改天another dayHSK 5
- 天空skyHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 天?
天 has 4 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 天 mean?
天 means “sky, day”. It appears in 今天 (“today”), 明天 (“tomorrow”), 昨天 (“yesterday”), 白天 (“daytime”).
How do you pronounce 天?
天 is read tiān. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 天 have?
4 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 天 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free