菩薩

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See also: 菩萨

Chinese

phonetic
trad. (菩薩) 菩 薩
simp. (菩萨) 菩 萨
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Pronunciation

Rime
Character 菩 薩
Reading # 1/4 1/1
Initial (聲) 並 (3) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 模 (23) 曷 (63)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open
Division (等) I I
Fanqie 薄胡切 桑割切
Baxter bu sat
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/buo/ /sɑt̚/
Pan
Wuyun 		/buo/ /sɑt̚/
Shao
Rongfen 		/bo/ /sɑt̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/bɔ/ /sat̚/
Li
Rong 		/bo/ /sɑt̚/
Wang
Li 		/bu/ /sɑt̚/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/bʱuo/ /sɑt̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		pú sa
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		pou4 saat3

Etymology 1

Short for 菩提薩埵／菩提萨埵 (pútísàduǒ), itself from Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व (bodhi-sattva, “enlightened existence”) or Pali bodhisatta. Later semantically extended to refer to a particularly virtuous person. (Dassanayake (2021))

Noun

菩薩

  1. (Buddhism) bodhisattva
  2. (figurative, sometimes ironic) kind-hearted person; kind and charitable person
    菩薩心腸／菩萨心肠  ―  púsàxīncháng  ―  heart of a bodhisattva (to be especially kind)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Sino-Xenic (菩薩):
  • → Peranakan Indonesian: powsat

    • Etymology 2

    Phono-semantic matching of Khmer ពោធិ៍សាត់ (poosat).

    Proper noun

    菩薩

    1. (～省) Pursat (a province of Cambodia)
    2. (～市) Pursat (a city in Pursat, Cambodia)

    Japanese

    Etymology 1

    Kanji in this term
    菩 薩
    ぼ
    Jinmeiyō     		さつ
    Jinmeiyō
    goon kan'on
    Alternative spellings
    𬻀
    𦬇

    /bosatɨ/ → /bosatʉ/ → /bosat͡sʉ/ → /bosat͡su/

    Shift from bosachi below, adopting the kan'on reading for the second character, possibly indicating a later borrowing or other influence from Middle Chinese. Ultimately from Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व (bodhi-sattva, literally “enlightened existence”)[1][2][3][4][5][6] or Pali bodhisatta.

    Compare modern Cantonese 菩薩／菩萨 (pou4 saat3).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    菩(ぼ)薩(さつ) • (bosatsu) 

    1. (Buddhism) Short for 菩提薩埵 (bodai-satta): a bodhisattva
      Synonyms: 開士 (kaishi, kaiji), 大士 (daishi)
    2. (obsolete) a title granted by the imperial court to notably virtuous high-ranking monks
    3. (archaic) a title applied to native Shinto deities after the spread of 本地垂迹 (honji suijaku, theological position prevalent until the Meiji period, explaining that Buddhist deities from India choose to appear in Japan as native kami)
    4. in gagaku circles, a dancer dressed up as a bodhisattva
    5. (colloquial) Synonym of 米 (kome): rice grains
    6. (by extension) a maidservant who cooks rice
    Derived terms
    Derived terms

    Proper noun

    菩(ぼ)薩(さつ) • (Bosatsu) 

    1. title of a piece of gagaku, categorized in the 唐楽 (tōgaku, literally “Tang music”) style

    Etymology 2

    Kanji in this term
    菩 薩
    ぼ
    Jinmeiyō     		さち
    Jinmeiyō
    goon

    /bosatɨ/ → /bosat͡ɕi/

    From Middle Chinese 菩薩 (MC bu sat), an abbreviation of 菩提薩埵 (MC bu dej sat twaX), itself a transliteration of Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व (bodhi-sattva, literally “enlightened existence”) or Pali bodhisatta. Uses the goon for both characters, indicating an earlier borrowing from Middle Chinese than the bosatsu reading above.

    Noun

    菩(ぼ)薩(さち) • (bosachi) 

    1. (Buddhism, obsolete) Short for 菩提薩埵 (bodai-satta): a bodhisattva
      • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Suzumushi)
        阿彌陀(あみだ)仏(ぶつ)けうしのほさちおのおの白(びゃく)たんしてつくり奉(たてまつ)りたる...
        Amida-butsu kyōshi no bosachi onoono byakutan shite tsukuri tatematsuritaru...
        (please add an English translation of this example)

    See also

    References

    1. ^ “菩薩”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
    2. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
    3. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
    4. ^ “菩薩”, in 世界大百科事典 第２版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    6. ^ “菩薩”, in ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典 (Buritanika Kokusai Dai Hyakka Jiten: Shō Kōmoku Jiten, “Encyclopædia Britannica International: Micropædia”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Britannica Japan Co., Ltd., 2014

    Korean

    Hanja in this term
    菩薩

    Noun

    菩薩 • (bosal) (hangeul 보살)

    1. hanja form? of 보살 (“bodhisattva”)

    Okinawan

    Kanji in this term
    菩 薩
    Jinmeiyō Jinmeiyō

    Etymology

    Cognate with Japanese 菩薩 (bosatsu).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    菩薩(ぶーさー) (būsā) 

    1. (Buddhism) bodhisattva

    Derived terms

    References

    • “ブーサー” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).

    Vietnamese

    chữ Hán Nôm in this term
    菩薩

    Noun

    菩薩

    1. chữ Hán form of bồ tát (“bodhisattva”).
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