上帝 (Shàngdì) · God (in Christianity and general usage)

Meanings

1 God (in Christianity and general usage)
2 the Supreme Being

About God

The supreme god of ancient Chinese religion, a name missionaries took for the Christian God; Protestants use it, Catholics say 天主. Everyday sayings use it too: 顾客就是上帝, 'the customer is God'.

Characters

上

shàng

upper; supreme; above

帝

dì

emperor; sovereign; God

The supreme sovereign - the highest ruler above all.

Examples

HSK 4

顾客就是上帝。

Gùkè jiùshì Shàngdì.

The customer is God.

HSK 5

他相信上帝的存在。

Tā xiāngxìn Shàngdì de cúnzài.

He believes in the existence of God.

HSK 7-9

上帝保佑！

Shàngdì bǎoyòu!

God bless!

Tips

history

Missionaries split over 上帝 versus 神 for 'God', so the 1919 Protestant Bible, the 和合本, came out in two editions, one with each word. To keep the pages identical, the 神 edition puts a blank space before the word.

usage

In Chinese, different religions use different terms: 上帝 (Christianity), 真主 (Allah in Islam), 佛 (Buddha). 天 (heaven) is also used as a general concept of a higher power.