抱佛腳
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See also: 抱佛脚
Chinese
to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug or embrace to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug or embrace; surround; cherish |
Buddha; Buddhism | role; foot; base | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (抱佛腳) | 抱 | 佛 | 腳 | |
| simp. (抱佛脚) | 抱 | 佛 | 脚 | |
| alternative forms | 抱佛跤 Min 抱佛骹 Min | |||
| Literally: “to grab the Buddha's foot”. | ||||
Etymology
The sense of "profess Buddhism" was attested in Meng Jiao's poem:
The sense of "to do something at last minute" is short for 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳／平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚 (píngshí bù shāoxiāng, línshí bào fójiǎo), an idiom which was derived from the above poem.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): pou5 fat6 goek3
- Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): phō-pu̍t-kha / phāu-hu̍t-kha / phō-hu̍t-kha
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄅㄠˋ ㄈㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: bào fójiǎo
- Wade–Giles: pao4 fo2-chiao3
- Yale: bàu fwó-jyǎu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: baw forjeau
- Palladius: бао фоцзяо (bao foczjao)
- Sinological IPA (key): /pɑʊ̯⁵¹ fu̯ɔ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: pou5 fat6 goek3
- Yale: póuh faht geuk
- Cantonese Pinyin: pou5 fat9 goek8
- Guangdong Romanization: pou5 fed6 gêg3
- Sinological IPA (key): /pʰou̯¹³ fɐt̚² kœːk̚³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phō-pu̍t-kha
- Tâi-lô: phō-pu̍t-kha
- Phofsit Daibuun: phoixpudqaf
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰɤ³³⁻²¹ put̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- IPA (Taipei): /pʰo³³⁻¹¹ put̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- IPA (Xiamen): /pʰo²²⁻²¹ put̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phāu-hu̍t-kha
- Tâi-lô: phāu-hu̍t-kha
- Phofsit Daibuun: phauxhudqaf
- IPA (Taipei): /pʰau³³⁻¹¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰau³³⁻²¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phō-hu̍t-kha
- Tâi-lô: phō-hu̍t-kha
- Phofsit Daibuun: phoixhudqaf
- IPA (Taipei): /pʰo³³⁻¹¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰɤ³³⁻²¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
Verb
抱⫽佛腳 (verb-object)
- to leave something to do at the last minute; to make a last-minute effort
- (original meaning, now rare) to profess Buddhism
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 臨時抱佛腳 (“to do something hurriedly only at the last minute”)
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 臨時抱佛腳, 急來抱佛腳, 急時抱佛腳, 急則抱佛腳, 抱佛腳, 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳 | |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 臨時抱佛腳, 抱佛腳, 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳 |
| Singapore | 臨時抱佛腳, 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳 | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 閒時唔燒香，急時抱佛腳, 平時唔燒香，臨急抱佛腳 |
| Hong Kong | 臨急抱佛腳, 平時唔燒香，臨急抱佛腳 | |
| Kaiping (Chikan) | 臨嫁錐耳 | |
| Northern Min | Jian'ou | 抱佛跤 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 抱佛跤 |
| Wu | Shanghai | 臨時抱佛腳 |
Derived terms
References
- Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922),
“抱佛腳” in 佛學大辭典 .
