Meanings Jump to a sense… 1. Buddha; Shakyamuni 2. Buddhist image; figure of Buddha 3. the dead; departed soul 4. merciful person; saintly person Usage patterns 仏ほとけ に 祈いの る to pray to the Buddha
Every morning he offers prayers to the Buddha.
仏ほとけ を 拝おが む to pay reverence to a Buddha statue
I paid my respects to the Buddha statue at the temple.
仏ほとけ のような 心こころ a merciful, saint-like heart
He has a heart as compassionate as a Buddha's.
Kanji 仏 Buddha, the dead, France Related words 仏陀 is the more formal, technical Buddhist term for the historical Buddha, while 仏 is the everyday word used in the same sense.
死者 is a neutral, formal word for 'the dead,' whereas 仏 is a softer, euphemistic term used especially in Buddhist or respectful contexts.
仏像 names the physical carved or cast object, whereas 仏 (ほとけ ) more broadly means the Buddha himself or a deceased person and is not limited to a statue.
Opposites 鬼 describes a cruel, merciless person, the opposite of 仏 when 仏 is used figuratively to mean a saintly, compassionate person.
Don't confuse with 神 refers to a Shinto god or deity, while 仏 specifically denotes a Buddha or Buddhist figure, and learners often blur the two despite the different traditions.
This is the same kanji 仏 but a completely different word: read ほとけ it means 'Buddha/Buddhist deity', while read ふつ it is an abbreviation for France.
Counted with 躯 is the traditional counter used for Buddhist statues and images, matching the sense of 仏 as a physical Buddha figure.
Honorific counter for gods and spirits (神様一柱 ).
Honorific counter for Buddhist images and deities.
Word family· 21 unconnected Buddha; spirit of someone who died with no one to tend their grave
mercifulness; compassion
Adam's apple; laryngeal prominence
mercy; merciful heart; charity
Buddha; the Buddha · deceased person; the departed
Show 8 more Show fewer compassionate heart; Buddha-like benevolence
gentle face; serene expression; Buddha-like face
nuribotoke; corpse-like monster with dangling eyeballs
reclining Buddha; image of the Buddha entering nirvana
round Buddhist plaque; hanging Buddha image
spirit of someone on the first Obon after their death · recently deceased person
snow Buddha figure
Buddha; the Buddha · deceased person; the departed
See all 21 in Explore →
Written forms 仏ほとけ Usage 59%
Standard modern kanji spelling.
佛ほとけ Usage 16%
out-dated kanji form
Old-form kanji; rarely used in modern Japanese.
ほとけ Usage 15%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for the 'dead person' sense.
ホトケ Usage 10%
Etymology From Old Japanese, ultimately from a Proto-Japonic root. The kanji 仏 is a Chinese borrowing used to write the native word.
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