Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 天使 | tiānshǐ | /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʂɻ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) | |
| 安琪兒 / 安琪儿 | ānqí'ér | ||
| 天使 | thiⁿ-sài | /tʰĩ³³ sai⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Philippines, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ sai¹¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Philippines, Sinological IPA, Taipei, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
天使 refers to a messenger from a deity or a celestial being, specifically in a religious context. You can specify the gender of an angel using 男天使 for a male angel or 女天使 for a female angel. To say "my angel", you can add 我的 before the word to get 我的天使.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 天使 is composed of 天, meaning heaven or sky and 使, meaning messenger or envoy, literally translating to "heavenly messenger".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The transliterated form 安琪兒 / 安琪儿 is a phonetic loanword that is often used colloquially, frequently appearing as a given name for females.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, the word for angel is тянщян. In Hokkien, the word is 天使.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate more than one angel, you can use the plural form 天使们.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for the Hokkien form 天使 is thiⁿ-sài.
Did you know?
- The term 天使 is used in the phrase 天使投資人 to describe an 'angel investor' who provides seed capital for a startup.
- The character 使 in 天使 also appears in 大使, the word for 'ambassador', reflecting the same conceptual root of a diplomatic envoy.
- In some older Chinese literary contexts, the concept of a celestial messenger might be more closely associated with 'immortals' than the Western concept of an 'angel'.
Examples in context
- 汤姆不是天使。Tom isn't an angel.This sentence is useful for showing a negative description using 天使.Tatoeba #4971561 by wzhd, translation #5082269 by zvzuibqx
- 你唱歌像天使。You sing like an angel.This sentence is useful for using 天使 in a simile to describe a singing voice.Tatoeba #5978351 by verdastelo9604, translation #2954783 by CK
- 我今晨看见一位天使。This morning, I saw an angel.This sentence is useful for using 天使 to describe seeing a celestial being.Tatoeba #400307 by GlossaMatik, translation #400305 by CM
- 她看起来就像一个天使。She looks like an angel.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is discussing a beautiful painting in an art gallery.
- 俊杰 Junjie这幅画里的天使真美。Zhè fú huà lǐ de tiānshǐ zhēn měi.The angel in this painting is truly beautiful.
- 雨婷 Yuting是啊，很有灵气。Shì a, hěn yǒu língqì.Yes, it has a very spiritual quality.
- 俊杰 Junjie雨婷，你看她的翅膀。Yǔtíng, nǐ kàn tā de chìbǎng.Yuting, look at her wings.
- 雨婷 Yuting简直像真的天使一样。Jiǎnzhí xiàng zhēn de tiānshǐ yīyàng.It is just like a real angel.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “angel” translations and entries 天使, 天使, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
