# Paradise, heaven, sky



## Outsider

In Portuguese these three words are *paraíso*, *céu*, and... *céu*! The word for heaven is the same as the word for sky. Even in English "heaven" is ambiguous: sometimes it can mean sky, and historically that was its original meaning.
How does this work in your language?

Thanks in advance for all replies.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

*Paradise*: «Παράδεισος» (pa'raðisos, _m._) a Hellenistic/Koine masculine noun «παράδεισος» (pă'rădeisŏs), a Persian loan word (from Middle Persian *pardēz) via Hebrew (the LXX Jewish scholars who translated the Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek-known as the Septuagint-calqued the Hebrew word פרדס _Pardés_ as «Παράδεισος»).
*Sky*: «Ουρανός» (ura'nos, _m._) a Classical masculine noun «οὐρανός» (ourā'nŏs)--> _the vault of heaven, sky_ with obscure etymology. Some philologists see a link however, with the ancient masculine noun «οὖρος» ('ourŏs)--> _urine_, PIE *ur-/*wers-, _to moisten, flow_; therefore «οὐρανός» is the place from where water, in the form of rain, drops. Uranus is the name of a planet in our planetary system.
*Heaven*: «Ουρανοί» (ura'ni) which is simply the noun «ουρανός» in plural, lit. the _skies_ --> «ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν», "the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 4:17, KJV)


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## DearPrudence

In *French*:

*"paradise": "le paradis"
"heaven": "le paradis", "le ciel", "les cieux"* ("cieux" is the plural of "ciel"). So literally,_ "the sky" or "the skies"_
*"sky": "le ciel"*

So "*le ciel*" can be ambiguous as it can be "the sky" or "heaven/paradise" (in some set phrases though)
"*le paradis*" is not ambiguous.


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## Moro12

In Russian:

"paradise": рай (rai)
"heaven": небо ('nebo) - singular, небеса (nebe'sa) - plural
"sky": небо ('nebo) - always singular


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## Moro12

As far as I know, Japanese makes a similar distinction between 空 [sora] (sky) and 天 [ten] (heaven). But I am not completely sure.
Probably some native speakers of Japanese could clarify the difference. 日本語は、「空」と「天」は意味が違いますか。


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## Anja.Ann

Hi, Outsider  

In Italian:

"paradise" = "paradiso" (from Latin _paradisus_ which comes from Greek _παράδεισος _(that means "garden", "park") 
"heaven" = "paradiso" or "ciel*i*" (plural) or "cielo"
"sky" = "cielo" (from Latin _caelum),_ sometimes also called "la volta celeste"


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## francisgranada

Hungarian:

*paradicsom -* paradise
*ég *- sky
*menny *- heaven

Also compound words: _égbolt _(sky-arch, "la volta celeste"), _mennyország _(heaven-land, "kingdom of heaven")


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## kirahvi

Finnish:

paradise - paratiisi
heaven - taivas
sky - taivas


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## AutumnOwl

*Swedish:*
paradise - _paradis_
heaven - _himmel, himmelen_
sky - _himmel, sky_ (the English word sky comes from the Scandinavian languages, in Swedish sky can be used both for the sky/heaven as well as for clouds)


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## OneStroke

Chinese:
Paradise - 天堂 (*tian*tang)
Heaven - 天堂 (*tian*tang)
Sky - 天 (*tian*), 天空 (*tian*kong), among others

Good heavens! - 我的天啊! Wode *tian* a!
Oh my god! - 老天爺啊! Lao*tian*ye a!
God/Heaven bless (you). - 上天保佑(你). Shang*tian* baoyou (ni).


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## mataripis

In Tagalog: Paradise= Paraiso       Heaven= Langit/kalangitan     Sky= Himpapawid/kalawakan


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## tFighterPilot

It's a bit tricky in Hebrew.
Gan Eden גן עדן: Literally means garden of Eden but in modern Hebrew is also used as the opposite of Geyhenom גיהנום which means hell and is usually used as the translation of paradise.
Shamayim שמיים: Means sky but can also be translated to heaven in some occasions. For example "Avinu shebashamayim" would be translated to "Our father that is in heaven".


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## terredepomme

You have to understand that this "paradise up in the sky" metaphor is a biblical concept.
So East Asian countries did not associate paradise with the sky.
In Buddhism there is the notion of paradise called 極樂, which is in the faraway west, not up there.
Taoism and Confucianism do not have a notion of paradise because they strictly focuse on the earthly life.
So if you are looking for the distinction between the heaven as the metaphor of paradise and the heaven as the literal sky, you have to look at the words for paradise in East Asian christianity, which are naturally modern calques.
Specifically, they would be 天國(sky-country) or 天堂(sky-temple).


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## terredepomme

As for the difference between sky and the heaven, I believe it to be a distinction made between secular/holy, the latter able to mean a "personified" or "sacrelized" sky rather than a literal one.
To make this distinction in modern Mandarin, 天空 would strictly mean the literal aerial space rather than the Heaven who govern all matters.
In Japanese, 空 would be literal and 天 would be more personified. 
In Korean, no such distinction is made: 하늘 can mean both the literal and the sacred sky.
天 in Korean is not used independantly but only as a component in polysyllabic words.


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## apmoy70

tFighterPilot said:


> It's a bit tricky in Hebrew.
> Gan Eden גן עדן: Literally means garden of Eden but in modern Hebrew is also used as the opposite of Geyhenom גיהנום which means hell and is usually used as the translation of paradise.
> ...


Often, the opposite of Paradise in Christianity is referred to as the גיהנום Geyhenom/Gehinom, which in Koine Greek was calqued as «Γέεννα» ('Gĕĕnnă, _f._; Modern Greek pronunciation--> /'je.e.na/) in the Gospels (Gehenna is the English equivalent).


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## Favara

Catalan shows no difference from other Romance languages:
paradise = _paradís_
heaven = _paradís_, _cel__, cels_ (pl.)
sky = _cel_


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## Selyd

In Ukrainian:
"paradise": рай (rai)
"heaven": небо ('nebo) - singular, небеса (nebe'sa) - plural
"sky": небо ('nebo) - singular


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## kloie

in estonian
paradise=paradiis
heaven,sky=taevas


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## NewtonCircus

In Dutch 

a) Paradise = *Paradijs
*b) Sky_ = *Lucht*_ or _*Hemel*_
c) Air =_* Lucht  
*_d) Heaven _= *Hemel

*_Use of _*lucht*_ or _*hemel*_ is not always obvious.Under the blue sky = *Onder de blauwe hemel*.
A bird in the sky_ = *Een vogel in de lucht*.
_


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## Encolpius

*Czech
*
*paradise *> ráj
*sky *> nebe, obloha [obloha exists, I think, only in Czech&Slovak, no other Slavic lngs]
*heaven *> nebe, nebesa


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## numerator

Another thread Genesis 1:1 -- "heaven" or "heavens"? led me to this interesting old thread.



francisgranada said:


> Hungarian:
> 
> *paradicsom -* paradise
> *ég *- sky
> *menny *- heaven
> 
> Also compound words: _égbolt _(sky-arch, "la volta celeste"), _mennyország _(heaven-land, "kingdom of heaven")





Encolpius said:


> *Czech*
> 
> *paradise *> ráj
> *sky *> nebe, obloha [obloha exists, I think, only in Czech&Slovak, no other Slavic lngs]
> *heaven *> nebe, nebesa



Just to mix things up, I'd like to add that Hungarian _ég_ can also be used to mean "heaven" (i.e., a place where God/gods, angels, dead people's souls etc. reside). (And _paradicsom _is also "tomato", which is completely off topic here but I couldn't resist )

So, in Hungarian you have an unabiguous word for "heaven" (_menny_) but not for "sky";
in contrast, in Czech & Slovak, you hava an unambigious word for "sky" (_obloha_) but not for "heaven".


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## Awwal12

Moro12 said:


> In Russian:
> 
> "paradise": рай (rai)
> "heaven": небо ('nebo) - singular, небеса (nebe'sa) - plural
> "sky": небо ('nebo) - always singular


I must note that isn't exactly true; the plural well may be used as a poetic term for "sky" as well.


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## raamez

In Arabic: 
Paradise: firdawas فردوس
Heaven: jannah جنة which is one word for garden in Arabic from j-n-n to hide
Sky: samaa' سماء


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## Welsh_Sion

*Cymraeg/Welsh*

Paradise: *Paradwys* (n.m.)
Heaven: *[y] nefoedd* (n.f./n.plur.), *[y] nef* (n.f.), *y nen* (n.f.), *awyr* (n.m.), *y ffurfafen* (n.f. and Lit.)
The Otherworld/The other world:* [yr]* *Arallfyd* (n.m.)
Sky: *awyr* (n.f.), *wybr* (n.f.), *wybren* (n.f.), *nen* (n.f.), *ffurfafen* (n.f. and Lit.), *entrych* (n.m.)


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## ThomasK

Welsh_Sion said:


> *Cymraeg/Welsh*
> 
> Paradise: *Paradwys* (n.m.)
> Heaven: *[y] nefoedd* (n.f./n.plur.), *[y] nef* (n.f.), *y nen* (n.f.), *awyr* (n.m.), *y ffurfafen* (n.f. and Lit.)
> The Otherworld/The other world:* [yr]* *Arallfyd* (n.m.)
> Sky: *awyr* (n.f.), *wybr* (n.f.), *wybren* (n.f.), *nen* (n.f.), *ffurfafen* (n.f. and Lit.), *entrych* (n.m.)


Is it not very special/.... that you have 4 or ... roots/ 5 words for one concept? I mean: for "*sky*" for example. I cannot guess how one can view (or explain...) that linguistically, but I consider it intriguing.

We can use both "lucht" (lit. air) and "heaven" for "'sky"' but I suppose the latter is mainly a metaphor, as heaven is often situated above/... the earth. As a matter of fact, that is the case with "*heaven*" as well, I suddenly notice: _awyr _and the literary _ffurfaffen. (_Too bad that neither www.etymologiebank.nl nor www.etymonline.com can offer a definite/... explanation for the word "hemel"/ "heaven"...)

_[the "/..." suggests that I am not sure that is the best word at that place of course...]_


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## ThomasK

raamez said:


> In Arabic:
> Paradise: firdawas فردوس
> Heaven: jannah جنة which is one word for garden in Arabic from j-n-n to hide
> Sky: samaa' سماء


Could _jannah  _refer to the garden of Eden? I see the concept (metaphor ???) has been common in Sumerian literature already, but is there a reference to it in the Qu'ran?


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## raamez

ThomasK said:


> Could _jannah  _refer to the garden of Eden? I see the concept (metaphor ???) has been common in Sumerian literature already, but is there a reference to it in the Qu'ran?


Yes it is jannat 3adan جنة عدن in Arabic.


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## ThomasK

I see, it is translated as the "paradise of heaven" by Google T. But of course a "paradise" seems to be simply [a plot] surrounded (_par_) by a wall (_diz_-)...


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## Welsh_Sion

@ThomasK,

I'm not claiming a monopoly on this but you have to bear in mind that there is no real 'standard' Welsh for the spoken language unlike RP English or (and correct me if I'm wrong) Amsterdam Dutch, for example. True, the literary language is more standardised - the point of reference is usually on the lines of the 1588 translation of the Bible (which itself was based on the literature of the poets in the mediaeval period), subsequent spelling reforms in 1928 and various new items of lexicon invented and/or adapted from previous forms during the 20th century. (Not to mention the influence of English on our vocabulary, syntax and general constructions ...)

But back to the point of no standardised spoken language. (Again, acknowledging that other languages have dialects, as well). The result is that there is a fierce pride in one's own dialect - and the dialects themselves are not considered deficient nor of lower status than any one particular form.

Consider all these possibilities recorded in the definitive one-way English-Welsh Dictionary for 'puff-ball'. All of which are valid in their own area of Wales, and the others outside 'your' area may be virtually unknown. But they're still accepted as lexical items:

*coden (f) fwg, coden eurych, cwd (m) y mwg, coden (f) eira, codaid (mf) eira, coden euraidd, snisin (m) bwgan, baco (m) bwgan, llygad (m) bwgan, caseg (f) eira, llwch (m) bwgan, burgyn (m) y gwair, pwrs (m) y mwg, bwyd (m) y barcud, pwsi-mwgm, pwff (m) y ddaear*

Geiriadur yr Academi | The Welsh Academy English-Welsh Dictionary Online


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## ThomasK

So you could say that some are regional variants of the official names. 

As for Dutch the StatenBijbel (1538) created/ generated some kind of standard Dutch. However, Belgium did not have a real standard language for a long time because French was the administrative language and therefore lots of people just spoke their regional languages: dialects... Along with that came a lot of variation indeed. (And I really appreciate that)

I did wonder: is there any way of explaining the etymological meaning to some extent?


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## Welsh_Sion

For Welsh etymology, use GPC:

Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru

I don't know if there is an 'official' term for 'puff-ball', say. They would have equal validity I think with each other, but in translating you'd have to bear in mind your audience's location. (Then again, you could live in the hope that those outside your dialect would look the word up in a Welsh-English dictionary - there is no really handy Welsh-Welsh one outside GPC - and they would then understand what was meant _from the English_.)


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## ThomasK

Thanks for the hint!


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## Włoskipolak 72

Encolpius said:


> *Czech*
> 
> *paradise *> ráj
> *sky *> nebe, obloha [obloha exists, I think, only in Czech&Slovak, no other Slavic lngs]
> *heaven *> nebe, nebesa


Polish

*paradise = *raj
*sky =* niebo, nieboskłon , *skies *= przestworza (air)
*heaven =* niebo , niebiosa

Obloha ? That's interesting , in Polish *obłok *or (chmura) means cloud .
Obłok = astr. skupisko ciał niebieskich, materii lub gazów, widziane z Ziemi w postaci jasnej plamy.


obloha = firmament 

obłok – Wikisłownik, wolny słownik wielojęzyczny


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