See also: and 彿
U+4F5B, 佛
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F5B

[U+4F5A]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+4F5C]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

(Kangxi radical 9, 人+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人中中弓 (OLLN), four-corner 25227, composition )

Derived characters

  • 𠲽, , 𱏎, 𩎵, 𡌅, 𰂖, 𰂽, 𰃈

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 99, character 4
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 517
  • Dae Jaweon: page 208, character 11
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 140, character 3
  • Unihan data for U+4F5B

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts


References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *bɯd): semantic (person) + phonetic (OC *pɯd).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.
alternative forms

Ji (1998v7) considers it likely borrowed from Iranian (compare Sogdian 𐼾𐼴𐽂𐼷 (pwty), 𐫁𐫇𐫤𐫏 (bwty /⁠Pute, Bute, βute⁠/), Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (bwt'), 𐫁𐫇𐫤 (bwt /⁠But⁠/), Parthian 𐫁𐫇𐫎 (bwṯ /⁠But, Butt⁠/)), ultimately from Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddha, awakened, enlightened, past passive participle), whence also 佛陀 (MC bjut da), but the Chinese morpheme is not a direct contraction or clipping of the latter.

Pronunciation


Note: fiit6 - used in some compounds, e.g. 佛手, 佛七.
Note:
  • Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taiwan:
    • pu̍t - vernacular;
    • hu̍t - literary.
Note:
  • fu6 - literary;
  • bu4 - vernacular, only used in some place names.

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location
    Mandarin Beijing /fo³⁵/
    Harbin /fɤ²⁴/
    Tianjin /fo⁴⁵/
    Jinan /fə⁴²/
    Qingdao /fu⁴²/
    Zhengzhou /fu⁴²/
    Xi'an /fo²⁴/
    Xining /fɔ²⁴/
    Yinchuan /fu¹³/
    /fuə⁵³/
    Lanzhou /fə⁵³/
    Ürümqi /fɤ⁵¹/
    Wuhan /fu²¹³/
    Chengdu /fu³¹/
    /fəu³¹/
    Guiyang /fu²¹/
    Kunming /fu³¹/
    Nanjing /fuʔ⁵/
    Hefei /fəʔ⁵/
    Jin Taiyuan /fəʔ⁵⁴/
    Pingyao /xuʌʔ⁵³/
    Hohhot /fɤ³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /vəʔ¹/
    Suzhou /vəʔ³/
    Hangzhou /vəʔ²/
    Wenzhou /vai²¹³/
    Hui Shexian /fu²²/
    Tunxi /fə¹¹/
    Xiang Changsha /fu²⁴/
    /pu⁵⁵/
    Xiangtan /ɸu⁵⁵/
    Gan Nanchang /fɨʔ²/
    Hakka Meixian /fut̚⁵/
    Taoyuan /fut̚⁵⁵/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /fɐt̚²/
    Nanning /fɐt̚²²/
    Hong Kong /fɐt̚²/
    Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /hut̚⁵/
    /put̚⁵/
    Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /huʔ⁵/
    Jian'ou (Northern Min) /xo⁴⁴/
    /xu²⁴/
    Shantou (Teochew) /huk̚⁵/
    Haikou (Hainanese) /ʔbut̚³/

    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (3)
    Final () (60)
    Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Closed
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Baxter bjut
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /bɨut̚/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /biut̚/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /biuət̚/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /but̚/
    Li
    Rong
    /biuət̚/
    Wang
    Li
    /bĭuət̚/
    Bernhard
    Karlgren
    /bʱi̯uət̚/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    fat6
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ bjut ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*[b][u]t/
    English great

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 3324
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    1
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*bɯd/

    Definitions

    1. (Buddhism) Buddha; The Enlightened One
        ―  tuó  ―  Buddha
        ―  jiào  ―  Buddhism
    2. (Buddhism) statue of Buddha
    3. (by extension) Buddhist scriptures
    4. (by extension) Buddhism; Buddhist doctrines
    Synonyms

    Descendants

    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Japanese: (ふつ) (futsu); (ぶつ) (butsu)
    • Korean: 불(佛) (bul)
    • Vietnamese: Phật ()

    Others:

    • Chadong: fut⁸
    • Mongolian: ᠪᠤᠷᠬᠠᠨ (burqan) / бурхан (burxan)
    • Vietnamese: Bụt (Buddha; a wise and kind old man in folklore)
    • Zhuang: baed

    Compounds

    Etymology 2

    For pronunciation and definitions of – see 彿.
    (This character is the simplified and variant traditional form of 彿).
    Notes:

    Etymology 3

    simp. and trad.
    alternative forms to assist

    Pronunciation


    Definitions

    1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of (, to assist)
    2. a surname

    Etymology 4

    simp. and trad.

    Dialectal pronunciation of (). Popularized by the streamer Sun Xiaochuan.

    Pronunciation


    Definitions

    1. (Mainland China, Internet slang) alternative form of (You win)

    Etymology 5

    simp. and trad.
    For pronunciation and definitions of – see (“to go against; to be contrary to”).
    (This character is an obsolete form of ).

    Compounds

    • 佛戾

    Etymology 6

    simp. and trad.
    For pronunciation and definitions of – see (“prosperous, thriving”).
    (This character is an obsolete form of ).

    References

    Japanese

    Shinjitai

    Kyūjitai

    Kanji

    (Jinmeiyō kanjikyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form )

    1. Kyūjitai form of

    Readings

    • Go-on: ぶつ (butsu)
    • Kan-on: ふつ (futsu)
    • Kun: ほとけ (hotoke, )
    • Nanori: さとる (satoru)

    Definitions

    For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
    5
    [kanji] fifth grade kanji
    Kanji reading:
    ぶつ, ぶち, ふつ, ほとけ, さとる, さらぎ
    (This term, , is the kyūjitai of the above term.)

    Korean

    Etymology

    From Middle Chinese (MC bjut).

    Historical Readings
    Dongguk Jeongun Reading
    Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 뿌ᇙ〮 (Yale: ppwúlq)
    Middle Korean
    Text Eumhun
    Gloss (hun) Reading
    Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 부텨 (Yale: Pwùthyè) 불〮 (Yale: pwúl)

    Pronunciation

    Hanja

    Wikisource

    (eumhun 부처 (bucheo bul))

    1. hanja form? of (Buddha)
    2. hanja form? of (France (in compounds, in news media))

    Compounds

    Proper noun

    Hanja in this term

    • (Bul) (hangeul )

    1. (in news headlines) short for ()()西() (Bullanseo, France)

    Usage notes

    A common convention in news headlines, this is almost always written solely in the Hanja form, even in contemporary Korean text otherwise devoid of any Hanja.

    References

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [3]

    Old Japanese

    Etymology

    Most likely from Proto-Koreanic *Pwutukye (Buddha).

    Noun

    (poto₂ke₂) (kana ほとけ)

    1. (Buddhism) a carving, image, statue, or other likeness of a buddha
      • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 16, poem 3841:
        造眞朱不足者水渟池田乃阿曾我鼻上乎穿禮
        poto2ke2 tukuru ma-so2po tarazupa mi1du tamaru Ike2da no2 aso2 ga pana no2 upe2 wo pore
        For the Buddha statue, you lack enough vermilion―so there is the puddle of Lord “Pond Field” Ikeda, dig in that big red nose.[1]

    Descendants

    • Japanese: (hotoke)

    References

    1. ^ Jin'ichi Konishi (2017) Aileen Gatten, Nicholas Teele, transl., Earl Roy Miner, editor, A History of Japanese Literature, Volume 1: The Archaic and Ancient Ages (Volume 4935 of Princeton Legacy Library), Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 415

    Vietnamese

    Han character

    : Hán Việt readings: phật ((phù)(vật)(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5], phất[3]
    : Nôm readings: phật[1][2][3][4][6], bật, bột, phù

    Noun

    1. chữ Hán form of Phật (a Buddha, an Enlightened One)

    Proper noun

    1. chữ Hán form of Phật (Buddha, the Enlightened One)
    2. chữ Hán form of Phật (Buddhism)

    Compounds

    References

    1. 1.0 1.1 Nguyễn (2014).
    2. 2.0 2.1 Nguyễn et al. (2009).
    3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Trần (2004).
    4. 4.0 4.1 Bonet (1899).
    5. ^ Génibrel (1898).
    6. ^ Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).

    Zhuang

    Noun

    1. Sawndip form of baed (Buddha; shrine; spirit; god)