天竺

Tiānzhú

noun #22,598

Meanings

1 ancient Chinese name for India
2 the Indian subcontinent (historical/Buddhist term)

Characters

a character used in transliteration of Indian/Sanskrit names

Examples

唐僧西天取经，前往天竺。

Táng Sēng xītiān qǔ jīng, qiánwǎng Tiānzhú.

The Tang Monk journeyed west to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures.

天竺是古代中国对印度的称呼。

Tiānzhú shì gǔdài Zhōngguó duì Yìndù de chēnghū.

Tianzhu was the ancient Chinese name for India.

Tips

history

天竺 was used during the Tang Dynasty and earlier to refer to the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Buddhist contexts. The monk Xuanzang (玄奘) famously traveled to 天竺 to obtain scriptures, a journey immortalized in Journey to the West (西游记).

Stroke Order

天 tiān

竺 zhú