The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

天高皇帝远

tiān gāo huáng dì yuǎndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. the sky is high and the emperor is far away (idiom) / fig. remote places are beyond the reach of the central government
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-f52474755282c46a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

天高皇帝遠 天高皇帝远 [tian1 gao1 huang2 di4 yuan3] /lit. the sky is high and the emperor is far away (idiom)/fig. remote places are beyond the reach of the central government/

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: 天高皇帝遠

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 高
    gāo

    high / tall / above average / loud / your (honorific)

    Gāo

    surname Gao

  • 皇
    huáng

    emperor

    Huáng

    surname Huang

  • 帝
    dì

    (bound form) emperor / sovereign / supreme deity

  • 远
    yuǎn

    far / distant / remote / (intensifier in a comparison) by far / much (lower etc)

    yuàn

    to distance oneself from (classical)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.