Meanings
alternative Tian-shan · alternative Tianshan · alternative Tian-Shan · alternative Tien Shan · alternative Tienshan
- A mountain range in Central Asia.
The excavation of the KaraDjigach site, in the Chu-Valley within the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, in August 1886.
2022 June 16, Dave Kindy, “DNA evidence reveals where the Black Death began”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022, RETROPOLIS5 more examples
WHEN in 1892, on a journey into Central Asia, I first made acquaintance with a small portion of the Central Tian-Shan, I received, even by a mere flying visit, abiding impressions of its magnificent mountain chains.
[1905, Gottfried Merzbacher, The Central Tian-Shan Mountains 1902-1903, London: John Murray, →OCLC, →OL, page 1Next they turned against Ma Chung-ying and drove him back to the T'ienshan mountains. But the Red Russian forces when pursuing him received a severe check at a well-known pass, called Tapancheng, where Ma had strongly entrenched himself with about 500 men.
[1935 March 20 [1935 March 10], “ANOTHER CHINESE LOSS IN SINKIANG”, in North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, volume CXCIV, number 3528, Shanghai, sourced from Peiping, →OCLC, page 448, column 2Warm letters and precious gifts came pouring in to the construction site from all parts of the country. Among the gifts were saw-wort seeds gathered from the Tienshan Mountains by workers in Singkiang^([sic – meaning Sinkiang]), chingko barley from emancipated serfs in Tibet, earth from people in quake-stricken Tangshan who were rebuilding their homes, water and sand from the Taiwan Straits from P.L.A. men on the Fukien frontline, colour pebbles from Yuhuatai, Nanking, milky quartz from the Kunlun Mountains, camellias from Tali, Yunnan, azaleas from Kangting, Szechuan, earth from the Chingkang Mountains, Kiangsi, water from Nanniwan, Shensi, etc. They embodied the profound proletarian feelings of the people of all nationalities for Chairman Mao.
[1977 September, “The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall Successfully Completed”, in China Pictorial, Peking: China Pictorial, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10During my inspection of counties in Changchi Prefecture last September, I came to realize that the irrigation of the Sinkiang farmland depended mainly on the melted snow of the Tienshan Mountains.
[1978 July 11 [1978 July 8], “Leading Cadres Must Accept Criticism and Supervision From the Masses”, in Daily Report: People's Republic of China, volume I, number 133, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Urumchi Sinkiang Regional Service, translation of original by Wang Feng (in Mandarin), →ISSN, →OCLC, National Affairs, page E 15We have descended Tian Shan and entered the Taklamakan Desert, a barren landscape painted in ecru—no shrubs, no grass, only waves upon waves of naked ridges the color of buff, the highest few spotted with white specks of snow.
2009, Y.J. Zhu, “Taklamakan Desert Moon Ride”, in Lucy McCauley, editor, The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009: True Stories from Around the World (Travelers' Tales), →ISBN, →ISSN, →OCLC, →OL, page 154Synonyms: Tengri Tagh
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA mountain range in Central Asia.
Origin
- Uyghurتەڭرىتاغ
- Mandarin天山
- EnglishTian Shan
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanisation of Mandarin 天山 (Tiān Shān), from Uyghur تەڭرىتاغ (tengritagh, literally “Mountains of God (Tengri)”) (Tengri Tagh).
More words from Mandarin, Uyghur
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali তিয়ান সান
- তিয়ান সান (tiẏan śan)mountain range
Chinese Cantonese 天山
- 天山 (tin¹ saan¹)mountain range
Chinese Mandarin 天山
- 天山 (Tiān-shān)mountain range
Czech Ťan-šan
- Ťan-šanmountain range
Finnish Tienšan
- Tienšanmountain range
Hindi टीएन शान
- टीएन शान (ṭīen śān)mountain range
Hungarian Tien-san
- Tien-sanmountain range
Japanese 天山
- 天山mountain range
Korean 톈산
- 톈산 (Tyensan)mountain range
Polish Tienszan, Tien-szan
- Tienszanmountain range
- Tien-szanmountain range
Portuguese Tian-Shan, Tian Shan
- Tian-Shanmountain range
- Tian Shanmountain range
Russian Тянь-Шань
- Тянь-Шань (Tjanʹ-Šanʹ)mountain range
Turkish Tanrı Dağları
- Tanrı Dağlarımountain range
Ukrainian Тянь-Шань
- Тянь-Шань (Tjanʹ-Šanʹ)mountain range
Urdu تیان شان
- تیان شان (tyān śān)mountain range
Vietnamese Thiên Sơn
- Thiên Sơnmountain range
Cite this entry
Tian Shan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tian%20Shan
“Tian Shan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tian%20Shan. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tian Shan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tian%20Shan.
Source: Tian Shan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.