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天壤之别

tiān rǎng zhī biédictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) the difference between heaven and earth (idiom) / (fig.) night and day difference / a world of difference / a far cry (from)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-0f91a5f00572bf97. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

天壤之別 天壤之别 [tian1 rang3 zhi1 bie2] /(lit.) the difference between heaven and earth (idiom)/(fig.) night and day difference; a world of difference; a far cry (from)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 天壤之別

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 壤
    rǎng

    (bound form) soil / earth / (literary) the earth (contrasted with heaven 天[tiān])

  • 之
    zhī

    (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de]) / him / her / it

  • 别
    bié

    to leave / to part (from) / (literary) to differentiate / to distinguish / (dialect) to turn away / to turn aside / to avert (one's face, gaze etc) / (bound form) other / another / different / don't ...! / to fasten with a pin or clip / to stick in / to insert (in order to hinder movement) / (noun suffix) category (as in 性別|性别[xìng bié], 派別|派别[pài bié])

    biè

    to make sb change their ways, opinions etc

    Bié

    surname Bie

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.