上帝

Shangdi (the supreme deity in Chinese mythology and folk religion)

Attested in the Oracle bones, albeit "extraordinarily rare[ly]".^[1]

God (Christian)

Identification of the Christian God with the native Shang supreme deity was first advanced by Catholic missionaries, including Matteo Ricci in his The True Meaning of The Lord of Heaven 《天主實義／天主实义》, published in 1595. Despite its Catholic semantic re-adaptation, the regular use of Shangdi to refer to the Christian God is today generally restricted to Protestants; Catholics generally use 天主 (Tiānzhǔ, “Lord of Heaven”) instead.

• 吾天主，乃古經書所稱上帝也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

  ---

  吾天主，乃古经书所称上帝也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

  From: 天主實義

  Wú Tiānzhǔ, nǎi gǔ jīngshū suǒ chēng Shàngdì yě. [Pinyin]

  My Lord of Heaven is He whom they call Shangdi in the ancient classics.

customers

The sense of "customers" is from the phrase 顧客就是上帝/顾客就是上帝 (“the customer is always right”, literally “the customer is the God”).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

上帝

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 上帝 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• Shangdi (English)

1. (Chinese mythology, Chinese folk religion) Shangdi (sky deity in Chinese traditional religions)

   • 雖有惡人，齋戒沐浴，則可以祀上帝。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     虽有恶人，斋戒沐浴，则可以祀上帝。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Suī yǒu èrén, zhāijiè mùyù, zé kě yǐ sì Shàngdì. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 況且老大人化過多少心力呢。借了上帝的息壤，來湮洪水，雖然觸了上帝的惱怒，洪水的深度可也淺了一點了。 [MSC, trad.]
     况且老大人化过多少心力呢。借了上帝的息壤，来湮洪水，虽然触了上帝的恼怒，洪水的深度可也浅了一点了。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1935, Lu Xun, 《理水》

     Kuàngqiě lǎo dàrén huà guò duōshào xīnlì ne. Jiè le Shàngdì de xīrǎng, lái yān hóngshuǐ, suīrán chù le Shàngdì de nǎonù, hóngshuǐ de shēndù kě yě qiǎn le yīdiǎn le. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (Christianity) God

   上帝保佑女王  ―  Shàngdì bǎoyòu Nǚwáng  ―  God Bless the Queen

   榮耀歸於上帝／荣耀归于上帝  ―  róngyào guīyú Shàngdì  ―  Glory to God alone

   你相信上帝嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
   你相信上帝吗？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ xiāngxìn shàngdì ma? [Pinyin]

   Do you believe in God?

   • 上帝至仁，以生生不窮爲道，豈有殺此贖彼，不忍不公之心也。耶穌彼謂之上帝之愛子，則愛子代有罪者被殺，而上帝悅之，亦何不仁不公之甚耶？吾知其上帝決無此事。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: 1961, ​Kim Yeong'ik (金永益), 《西敎辨》

     Sangje ji in, i saengsaeng bul gung wi do, gae yu sal cha sok pi, burin bulgong ji sim ya. Yaso pi wi ji Sangje ji aeja, jeuk aeja dae yujoe ja pi sal, i Sangje yeol ji, yeok ha burin bulgong ji sim ya? O ji gi Sangje gyeol mu cha sa. [Sino-Korean]

     Shangdi [God] being most benevolent, He made the inexhaustibility of growth and multiplication as His Way; how could there be Him killing this to redeem that—[that] would be an unbearably unfair intention. As for Jesus, they say he is God's beloved son, so the beloved son has been killed in place of the sinful, and this was pleasing unto God; again, how severe is the lack of benevolence, the unfairness? I know that God would never do such a thing.

• (God):

• (Wu) 真神 (Zhēnshén)

上帝

1. (obsolete) monarch
2. (slang) customer; consumer

上(じょう)帝(てい) • (jōtei) 

1. lord, god

上(じょう)帝(てい) • (Jōtei) 

1. God, the Creator

上帝 • (Sangje) (hangeul 상제)

1. hanja form^? of 상제 (“God”)

上帝

1. chữ Hán form of Thượng Đế (“God”).