四大天王

Chinese

		four	big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	the son of heaven; emperor
simp. and trad. (四大天王)		四	大	天王

Etymology

Calque of Sanskrit चतुर् महाराज (catur mahārāja, literally “four great kings”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sìdàtiānwáng

  (Zhuyin): ㄙˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄤˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sei³ daai⁶ tin¹ wong⁴
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): si-thai-thiên-vòng

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sìdàtiānwáng
    • Zhuyin: ㄙˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄤˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sìhdàtianwáng
    • Wade–Giles: ssŭ⁴-ta⁴-tʻien¹-wang²
    • Yale: sz̀-dà-tyān-wáng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: syhdahtianwang
    • Palladius: сыдатяньван (sydatjanʹvan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ wɑŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sei³ daai⁶ tin¹ wong⁴
    • Yale: sei daaih tīn wòhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sei³ daai⁶ tin¹ wong⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: séi³ dai⁶ tin¹ wong⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sei̯³³ taːi̯²² tʰiːn⁵⁵ wɔːŋ²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: si-thai-thiên-vòng
    • Hakka Romanization System: xi tai tien´ vongˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xi⁴ tai⁴ tian¹ vong²
    • Sinological IPA: /si⁵⁵ tʰai̯⁵⁵ tʰi̯en²⁴ voŋ¹¹/

Noun

四大天王

1. (Buddhism) Four Heavenly Kings, the four guardian gods who protect each of the four cardinal directions; the lokapālas
2. (colloquial) a group of four prominent individuals
3. (pop culture) a slang term for four of Hong Kong's most famous male Cantopop singers, namely Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai

Synonyms

• 風調雨順／风调雨顺 (fēngtiáoyǔshùn)
• 四天王 (sìtiānwáng)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
四	大	天	王
し Grade: 1	だい Grade: 1	てん Grade: 1	おう > のう Grade: 1
on’yomi	goon

Etymology

Calque of Sanskrit चतुर्महाराज (caturmahārāja, literally “four great kings”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しだいてんの​ー [shì dáítéńnóꜜò] (Nakadaka – [6])
• IPA^(key): [ɕi da̠itẽ̞nːo̞ː]

Noun

四(し)大(だい)天(てん)王(のう) • (shi daitennō) ^{←しだいてんわう (sidaiten'wau)?}

1. (Buddhism) Synonym of 四天王 (shitennō): the Four Heavenly Kings