부처

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:

First attested in the Seokbo sangjeol (釋譜詳節 / 석보상절), 1447, as Middle Korean 부텨 (Yale: Pwùthyè), from Late Old Korean 佛體 (*PWUthye?), from Proto-Koreanic *Pwutukye, which was also loaned into Manchu ᡶᡠᠴᡳᡥᡳ (fucihi, “Buddha”) and Japanese 仏(ほとけ) (hotoke, “Buddha”) when Koreans spread Buddhism to those peoples. See the Proto-Korean entry for more.^[1][2] The first two syllables are ultimately from Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddhá), via Middle Chinese 佛陀 (MC bjut da) or some similar Sinitic form. Thomas Pellard speculates that the final element is an ancient Koreanic word for "king; lord".

The traditional etymology still given in Korean dictionaries is that this is a non-Sino-Korean form of the Chinese phrase 佛體 (MC bjut thejX), meaning "body of the Buddha", but this is problematic both phonologically (pitch accent and vocalism mismatch) and historically (inability to explain the match between Japanese and Manchu without positing a Korean source for both).

• 부텨 (butyeo) — Early Modern

부처 • (Bucheo)

1. Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism)

   Synonyms: (less common, intentional Sanskritization) 붓다 (Butda), (less common) 불타(佛陀) (Bulta)

부처 • (bucheo)

1. a Buddha (an enlightened being in Buddhism)

   Synonyms: (less common, intentional Sanskritization) 붓다 (Butda), (less common) 불타(佛陀) (Bulta)

• 석가모니(釋迦牟尼) (Seokgamoni, “Shakyamuni”, personal name of the Buddha)
• 보살(菩薩) (bosal, “bodhisattva”)
• 佛 (bul), the hanja for the Buddha

Sino-Korean word from 部 (“ministry”) + 處 (“location”).

부처 • (bucheo) (hanja 部處)

1. ministries of government

In a contemporary South Korean context, this word refers specifically to the executive bodies called 부(部) (bu) and 처(處) (cheo), when being considered together. There are currently eighteen 부(部) (bu) and five 처(處) (cheo). Both are translated as "ministry" in English.

Sino-Korean word from 夫妻, from 夫 (“husband”) + 妻 (“wife”).

부처 • (bucheo) (hanja 夫妻)

1. (formal) married couple, husband and wife

   Synonym: (much more common) 부부(夫婦) (bubu)