上帝

Chinese

		up; on; on top up; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up	emperor
simp. and trad. (上帝)		上	帝

Etymology

Shangdi (the supreme deity in Chinese mythology and folk religion): Attested in the Oracle bones, albeit "extraordinarily rare[ly]".^[1]

God (Christian)

Identification of the Christian God with the native Shang supreme deity was first advanced by Catholic missionaries, including Matteo Ricci in his The True Meaning of The Lord of Heaven 《天主實義／天主实义》, published in 1595. Despite its Catholic semantic re-adaptation, the regular use of Shangdi to refer to the Christian God is today generally restricted to Protestants; Catholics generally use 天主 (Tiānzhǔ, “Lord of Heaven”) instead.

吾天主，乃古經書所稱上帝也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
吾天主，乃古经书所称上帝也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: 天主實義
Wú Tiānzhǔ, nǎi gǔ jīngshū suǒ chēng Shàngdì yě. [Pinyin]
My Lord of Heaven is He whom they call Shangdi in the ancient classics.

customers: The sense of "customers" is from the phrase 顧客就是上帝/顾客就是上帝 (“the customer is always right”, literally “the customer is the God”).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): Shàngdì

(Zhuyin): ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄧˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): soeng⁶ dai³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): Song-ti / Song-thi

(Hailu, HRS): shong^˖ di^ˇ
Northern Min (KCR): Ciōng-di̿
Eastern Min (BUC): Siông-dá̤
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): Siōng-tè / Siāng-tè

(Teochew, Peng'im): siang⁶ di³
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zaon-ti

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Shàngdì
  - Zhuyin: ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄧˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Shàngdì
  - Wade–Giles: Shang⁴-ti⁴
  - Yale: Shàng-dì
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shanqdih
  - Palladius: Шанди (Šandi)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: soeng⁶ dai³
  - Yale: seuhng dai
  - Cantonese Pinyin: soeng⁶ dai³
  - Guangdong Romanization: sêng⁶ dei³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœːŋ²² tɐi̯³³/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Song-ti
  - Hakka Romanization System: song di
  - Hagfa Pinyim: song⁴ di⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /soŋ⁵⁵ ti⁵⁵/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Song-thi
  - Hakka Romanization System: song ti
  - Hagfa Pinyim: song⁴ ti⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /soŋ⁵⁵ tʰi⁵⁵/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: shong^˖ di^ˇ
  - Sinological IPA: /ʃoŋ³³ ti¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: Ciōng-di̿
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siɔŋ⁵⁵ ti³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: Siông-dá̤
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /suoŋ²⁴²⁻⁵³ ^(t-)nɑ²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siōng-tè
  - Tâi-lô: Siōng-tè
  - Phofsit Daibuun: sioxngdex
  - IPA (Taipei): /siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ te¹¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /siɔŋ⁴¹⁻²² te⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /siɔŋ²²⁻²¹ te²¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ te²¹/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siāng-tè
  - Tâi-lô: Siāng-tè
  - Phofsit Daibuun: siaxngdex
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /siaŋ²²⁻²¹ te²¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: siang⁶ di³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siăng tì
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siaŋ³⁵⁻¹¹ ti²¹³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zaon-ti
  - MiniDict: zaon^去 ti
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zaan-ti
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zɑ̃²² ti⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: dzyangH tejH

Rime
Character	上	帝
Reading #	2/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)	端 (5)
Final (韻)	陽 (105)	齊 (39)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	IV
Fanqie	時亮切	都計切
Baxter	dzyangH	tejH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑɨɐŋ^H/	/tei^H/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑiɐŋ^H/	/tei^H/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑiɑŋ^H/	/tɛi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑɨaŋ^H/	/tɛj^H/
Li Rong	/ʑiaŋ^H/	/tei^H/
Wang Li	/ʑĭaŋ^H/	/tiei^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʑi̯aŋ^H/	/tiei^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shàng	dì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	soeng⁶	dai³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*daŋʔ-s tˤek-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*djaŋs teːɡs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	上	帝
Reading #	3/3	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shàng	dì
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyang^H ›	‹ tej^H ›
Old Chinese	/*daŋʔ-s/	/*tˁek-s/
English	top, above (n.)	God
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	上	帝
Reading #	2/2	1/1
No.	11103	2313
Phonetic component	上	帝
Rime group	陽	賜
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	尚	帝
Old Chinese	/*djaŋs/	/*teːɡs/
Notes		甲金文象根啇非朿聲

Proper noun

上帝

Wikipedia has articles on:

上帝 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
Shangdi (English)

(Chinese mythology, Chinese folk religion) Shangdi (sky deity in Chinese traditional religions)
- 雖有惡人，齋戒沐浴，則可以祀上帝。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  虽有恶人，斋戒沐浴，则可以祀上帝。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE
  Suī yǒu èrén, zhāijiè mùyù, zé kě yǐ sì Shàngdì. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- 況且老大人化過多少心力呢。借了上帝的息壤，來湮洪水，雖然觸了上帝的惱怒，洪水的深度可也淺了一點了。 [MSC, trad.]
  况且老大人化过多少心力呢。借了上帝的息壤，来湮洪水，虽然触了上帝的恼怒，洪水的深度可也浅了一点了。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 1935, Lu Xun, 《理水》
  Kuàngqiě lǎo dàrén huà guò duōshào xīnlì ne. Jiè le Shàngdì de xīrǎng, lái yān hóngshuǐ, suīrán chù le Shàngdì de nǎonù, hóngshuǐ de shēndù kě yě qiǎn le yīdiǎn le. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
(Christianity) God
上帝保佑女王 ― Shàngdì bǎoyòu Nǚwáng ― God Bless the Queen

榮耀歸於上帝／荣耀归于上帝 ― róngyào guīyú Shàngdì ― Glory to God alone

你相信上帝嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
你相信上帝吗？ [MSC, simp.]
Nǐ xiāngxìn shàngdì ma? [Pinyin]
Do you believe in God?
- 上帝至仁，以生生不窮爲道，豈有殺此贖彼，不忍不公之心也。耶穌彼謂之上帝之愛子，則愛子代有罪者被殺，而上帝悅之，亦何不仁不公之甚耶？吾知其上帝決無此事。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]
  From: 1961, Kim Yeong'ik (金永益), 《西敎辨》
  Sangje ji in, i saengsaeng bul gung wi do, gae yu sal cha sok pi, burin bulgong ji sim ya. Yaso pi wi ji Sangje ji aeja, jeuk aeja dae yujoe ja pi sal, i Sangje yeol ji, yeok ha burin bulgong ji sim ya? O ji gi Sangje gyeol mu cha sa. [Sino-Korean]
  Shangdi [God] being most benevolent, He made the inexhaustibility of growth and multiplication as His Way; how could there be Him killing this to redeem that—[that] would be an unbearably unfair intention. As for Jesus, they say he is God's beloved son, so the beloved son has been killed in place of the sinful, and this was pleasing unto God; again, how severe is the lack of benevolence, the unfairness? I know that God would never do such a thing.

Synonyms

(God):

Terms for God in different branches of Christianity

Branch	Words edit
Protestant	上帝, 神, 真神
Roman Catholic	天主, 僚氏 Hokkien, historical
Eastern Orthodox	上帝
Church of the East	阿羅訶, 天尊, 真主

(Wu) 真神 (Zhēnshén)

Derived terms

上帝教
上帝羔羊 (Shàngdì Gāoyáng)
五方上帝
拜上帝會 / 拜上帝会 (Bài Shàngdì Huì)
玄天上帝 (Xuántiān Shàngdì)
玉皇上帝 (Yùhuáng Shàngdì)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (上帝):

→ Japanese: 上帝(じょうてい) (jōtei)
→ Korean: 상제(上帝) (sangje)
→ Vietnamese: Thượng Đế (上帝)

Noun

上帝

(obsolete) monarch
(slang) customer; consumer

References

^ Chang, Ruth H. (2000) “Understanding Di and Tian: Deity and Heaven from Shang to Tang Dynasties”, in Sino-Platonic Papers‎^[1], number 108, page vi

Japanese

Kanji in this term
上	帝
じょう Grade: 1	てい Grade: S
goon	kan'on

Noun

上(じょう)帝(てい) • (jōtei)

lord, god

Proper noun

上(じょう)帝(てい) • (Jōtei)

God, the Creator

Korean

Hanja in this term
上	帝

Proper noun

上帝 • (Sangje) (hangeul 상제)

hanja form^? of 상제 (“God”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
上	帝

Proper noun

上帝

chữ Hán form of Thượng Đế (“God”).

[1] Chang, Ruth H. (2000) “Understanding Di and Tian: Deity and Heaven from Shang to Tang Dynasties”, in Sino-Platonic Papers‎^[1], number 108, page vi

[1]