<p>天上天下 (above and below the Heaven) is a Japanese phrase, The whole phrase is &quot;天上天下唯我独尊&quot; (I am the only master above and below the Heaven)-- <em>Quite a statement for a tattoo</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%94%AF%E6%88%91%E7%8B%AC%E5%B0%8A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">天上天下唯我独尊</a></p>
<p><em>元来、「天上天下唯我独尊」は、釈迦が言ったのではない</em></p>
<p><em>originally, &quot;I am the only master above and below the heaven&quot; is not what Buddha said</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>It was also used as a title of a famous Japanese manga by Oh Great</p>
<p><a href="https://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/82811426d55fb8703b79014c6431381c1450389681_full.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/82811426d55fb8703b79014c6431381c1450389681_full.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Similar Chinese phrases include 天下, 天上地下 and 上天下地</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-07T06:32:55.117Z
2018-07-07T06:40:53.157Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>天上:the heaven,天下:all over the world.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-07T02:46:50.803Z
2018-07-07T02:46:50.803Z
Zhai Yaozu
<p>"天上" means above the sky(or heaven). "天下" means below the sky(or heaven).</p>

<p>The original phrase may be "天上天下，为我独尊。", or it may also be "天上天下靡有逾我者" from @user6065's comment. </p>

<p>@Tang Ho already pointed out that "天上天下，为我独尊。" means "I am the only master above and below the heaven".</p>

<p>"天上天下靡有逾我者" has very similar meaning. "靡(mǐ)有" means "没有(no, there is not). "逾(yú)" means "超过(to exceed)". So this entire phrase means "There is no one(者) exceeds me(我) above and below the sky(or heaven)".</p>

<p>"天上天下，为我独尊。" is from the book <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8A%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B%EF%BC%8C%E6%83%9F%E6%88%91%E7%8B%AC%E5%B0%8A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">《大唐西域记》</a>. Most people think it is originally from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Gautama Buddha</a>. The book of @user6065's link is also about Buddhism.</p>

<p>But there is no evidence to prove Gautama Buddha was the original person who said this phrase. <a href="https://www.zhihu.com/question/55625682" rel="nofollow noreferrer">芒果侠's answer</a> pointed out that Gautama Buddha did not say this.</p>

<p>Since books of Buddhism are mostly written in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sanskrit</a> and there could be thousands of different versions of translations in Chinese language. There is no clear clue of who said this phrase.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T06:36:03.933Z
2018-07-10T06:36:03.933Z
Misaka Mikoto
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jikE9.jpg" alt="enter image description here">
My friend got this tattoo like 6 years ago and he can't remember exactly what it means.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T23:47:27.583Z
天上天下？cf. 天上天下靡有逾我者  https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%89%9F%E5%AD%90%E7%90%86%E6%83%91%E8%AE%BA
user6065
<translation>
Can someone tell me what this says?
# Can someone tell me what this says?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-06)

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/jikE9.jpg)
My friend got this tattoo like 6 years ago and he can't remember exactly what it means.

**Tags:** translation
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 天上天下？cf. 天上天下靡有逾我者  https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%89%9F%E5%AD%90%E7%90%86%E6%83%91%E8%AE%BA  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-07. Score: 3

天上天下 (above and below the Heaven) is a Japanese phrase, The whole phrase is "天上天下唯我独尊" (I am the only master above and below the Heaven)-- *Quite a statement for a tattoo*

> [天上天下唯我独尊](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%94%AF%E6%88%91%E7%8B%AC%E5%B0%8A)
>
> *元来、「天上天下唯我独尊」は、釈迦が言ったのではない*
>
> *originally, "I am the only master above and below the heaven" is not what Buddha said*

It was also used as a title of a famous Japanese manga by Oh Great

[![enter image description here](https://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/82811426d55fb8703b79014c6431381c1450389681_full.jpg)](https://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/82811426d55fb8703b79014c6431381c1450389681_full.jpg)

Similar Chinese phrases include 天下, 天上地下 and 上天下地


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### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-07. Score: 1

天上:the heaven,天下:all over the world.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2018-07-10. Score: 1

"天上" means above the sky(or heaven). "天下" means below the sky(or heaven).

The original phrase may be "天上天下，为我独尊。", or it may also be "天上天下靡有逾我者" from @user6065's comment.

@Tang Ho already pointed out that "天上天下，为我独尊。" means "I am the only master above and below the heaven".

"天上天下靡有逾我者" has very similar meaning. "靡(mǐ)有" means "没有(no, there is not). "逾(yú)" means "超过(to exceed)". So this entire phrase means "There is no one(者) exceeds me(我) above and below the sky(or heaven)".

"天上天下，为我独尊。" is from the book [《大唐西域记》](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8A%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B%EF%BC%8C%E6%83%9F%E6%88%91%E7%8B%AC%E5%B0%8A). Most people think it is originally from [Gautama Buddha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha). The book of @user6065's link is also about Buddhism.

But there is no evidence to prove Gautama Buddha was the original person who said this phrase. [芒果侠's answer](https://www.zhihu.com/question/55625682) pointed out that Gautama Buddha did not say this.

Since books of Buddhism are mostly written in [Sanskrit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit) and there could be thousands of different versions of translations in Chinese language. There is no clear clue of who said this phrase.


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