Chinese

Proper noun

天河

1. (poetic) the Milky Way
2. (天河區／天河区) Tianhe (a district in Guangzhou)

Japanese

天河 (Tenga): the Milky Way, appearing as a river of light in the heavens.

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 天河 ‎(*ten *ha, literally “heaven river”). Compare modern Chinese 天河 ‎(Tiānhé).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ŋga̠], [tẽ̞ŋŋa̠]

Proper noun

天河 ‎(hiragana てんが, romaji Tenga)

1. the Milky Way galaxy

Synonyms

• 天の川, 天の河 (あまのがわ, ​ama no gawa)
• 銀河系 (ぎんがけい, ​Gingakei) (more common)
• 天漢 (てんかん, ​Tenkan) (rare)

References

• 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
• 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9