佛
France
StatusJinmeiyō (variant)Strokes7
Readings
On'yomi
- ブツ
- フツ
Kun'yomi
- ほとけ
Nanori
- さらぎ
Meaning
佛 is an older form used primarily as a phonetic loan for 'France' in certain historical contexts. Its standalone meaning is tied to that specific country reference rather than a broad conceptual center.
Most common words using 佛
Study
Etymology
佛 originally depicted a person (亻) beside 弗, which likely contributed sound. In Japanese, it was later used phonetically to represent 'France' (フツ). The exact historical development of this usage is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The person radical 亻 beside 弗 can be remembered as a person holding a dollar-like symbol (弗) to represent the foreign country France.
Reading mnemonic
For ブツ, imagine a French person saying 'boots' with a thick accent: boots -> ブツ, tying the sound to the France meaning.