天てん人にん

also: あめひと · あまびと

て

ん

に

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

heavenly being; celestial maiden

Refers to divine beings, nymphs, or maidens in Buddhist or mythological contexts. Often depicted as beautiful, flying figures in traditional art and stories.

壁へき画がには天てん人にんが舞まい降おりる様よう子すが描えがかれている。
The mural depicts heavenly beings descending.
彼かの女じょの美うつくしさはまるで天てん人にんのようだ。
Her beauty is like that of a celestial maiden.

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
人person

Related words

天てん使し
天使 is a more general term for 'angel' in Abrahamic contexts, while 天人 is specifically a Buddhist or mythological celestial being.
天てん女にょ
天女 specifically refers to a female celestial being or nymph, whereas 天人 can be gender-neutral or refer to both male and female heavenly beings.

Word family

テンニンチョウ
pin-tailed whydah

Written forms

天人Usage50%
- てんにん
  Standard kanji spelling for the common reading てんにん.
- あめひと
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete reading; it is out-dated kana usage.
- あまびと
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete reading; it is out-dated kana usage.
てんにんUsage50%
あまびと
out-dated reading
あめひと
out-dated reading

Etymology

Compound of 天 (heaven) and 人 (person). The reading てんにん is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi. The archaic readings あめひと and あまびと are native Japanese kun'yomi compounds that have fallen out of use.