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天文台 (てんもんだい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

天てん文もん台だい

て

ん

も

ん

だ

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

astronomical observatory

A facility equipped for observing celestial events. Often used in names of specific observatories.

国こく立りつ天てん文もん台だいは三み鷹たか市しにある。
The National Astronomical Observatory is in Mitaka City.
週しゅう末まつに天てん文もん台だいへ星ほしを見みに行いった。
I went to the observatory to see the stars on the weekend.

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
文sentence, literature, style
台pedestal, a stand, counter for machines and vehicles

Similar words

プラネタリウム
A planetarium projects images of the night sky indoors, while 天文台 is an actual observatory with telescopes.

Etymology

Compound of 天文 (astronomy) and 台 (platform/stand). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since the Meiji era to refer to observatories.