坊主
Japanese[edit]
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 坊 | 主 |
| ぼう Grade: S |
す > ず Grade: 3 |
| on’yomi | |
Etymology[edit]
Wasei kango (和製漢語), from 坊 (bō, “section of a town and its streets”) + 主 (zu, “lord, master”). The kanji 坊 originally referred to, in Sinitic, a division of a town and the lanes surrounding it, and gradually shifted to refer to the workshops and other buildings that might be found in such a section, including temples. Thus, the term literally refers to a "temple master", i.e. a head (Buddhist) monk, eventually coming to refer to Buddhist monks in general in Japanese.
The "bald head" sense comes from the traditional shaved heads of Buddhist monks (known as 坊主刈り (bōzugari)), while the "kiddo" sense comes from the custom for young boys to have shaved heads à la said monks in traditional Japanese society.[1]
The "monk" and "kiddo" meanings have been applied back to the constituent kanji 坊 in Japanese; see also 坊や (bōya) for an example.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
Usage notes[edit]
May be used as an uncomplimentary address for a Buddhist priest or monk: Similar phonetically to 凡僧 (bonsō); or ぼんぞう (bonzō): an ordinary, lowly monk.
The “bald head, bald person” sense typically refers to one that is shaved bald, though may sometimes refer to one who is naturally bald, for example due to male pattern baldness or other hair loss.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
- 油坊主 (aburabōzu): skilfish
- 照る照る坊主 (teru teru bōzu): lit. "shine shine monk"
- 坊主頭 (bōzuatama): shaved head
- 丸坊主 (marubōzu): clean shaven
- 三日坊主 (mikkabōzu): (literally, three day priest) someone who cannot stick to anything, someone who gives up easily.
- 腕白坊主 (wanpakubōzu): naughty child, rascal
- 坊主憎けりゃ袈裟まで憎い (bōzu nikukerya kesa made nikui)
References[edit]
- ^ “坊主の意味・語源・由来を詳しく解説”, in 語源由来辞典[1], 2020 July 22, archived from the original on 23 May 2024
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
- Japanese terms spelled with 坊 read as ぼう
- Japanese terms spelled with 主 read as す
- Japanese terms with rendaku
- Japanese terms read with on'yomi
- Wasei kango
- Chinese terms borrowed back into Chinese
- Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese nouns
- Japanese terms spelled with secondary school kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with third grade kanji
- Japanese terms written with two Han script characters
- Japanese slang
- ja:Buddhism
- ja:Monasticism
- ja:Male people