和お尚しょう

also: わじょう

お

しょ

う

Common word›Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

priestly teacher; preceptor

honorific or respectful (sonkeigo)›Buddhism›

Buddhist honorific term for a priestly teacher or preceptor. The pronunciation varies by sect: おしょう in Zen and Pure Land, かしょう in Tendai and Kegon, わじょう in Shingon, Hosso, Ritsu, and Shin Buddhism.

禅ぜん宗しゅうでは、和お尚しょうは弟で子しを指し導どうする師し僧そうを指さす。

In Zen Buddhism, 和尚 refers to the master who guides disciples.

noun

monk; head priest

Buddhism›

Only with reading おしょう / かしょう

Commonly used for a Buddhist monk, especially the head monk or chief priest of a temple. Restricted to the readings おしょう and かしょう.

あの寺てらの和お尚しょうさんはとても親しん切せつだ。
The head priest of that temple is very kind.
和お尚しょうが毎まい朝あさお経きょうをあげる。
The monk chants sutras every morning.

noun

second highest priestly rank

Buddhism›

Specific Buddhist rank, below 法眼 (ほうげん). A technical term within the Buddhist hierarchy.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉和お尚しょうReverend ~ (used after a priest's name as an honorific title)
良りょう寛かん和お尚しょうは多おおくの詩しを残のこした。
Reverend Ryōkan left behind many poems.
和お尚しょうになるto become a head priest/monk
彼かれは長ながい修しゅ行ぎょうを終おえ、和お尚しょうになった。
After long training, he became a head priest.

Expressions

衣ころもばかりで和お尚しょうはできぬthe clothes do not make the man; the cowl does not make the monk

Kanji

和harmony, Japanese style, peace
尚esteem, furthermore, still
上above, up

Related words

住じゅう職しょく sense 2
住職 specifically denotes the administrative head priest of a temple, while 和尚 is a broader honorific for a Buddhist monk or teacher.
僧そうN1sense 2
僧 is the plain, generic word for a Buddhist monk, whereas 和尚 carries an honorific, respectful tone.
坊ぼうさんN2sense 2
坊さん is a casual, everyday way to refer to a monk, while 和尚 is more formal and used as a title of respect.
坊ぼう主ずN1
和尚 specifically refers to a head priest or abbot, whereas 坊主 is a more general, sometimes blunt word for any Buddhist monk.
禅ぜん僧そう
和尚 is a title for a head or senior priest (often at a Zen temple), whereas 禅僧 is the broader word for any Zen monk or priest, senior or not.

Written forms

和尚Usage100%
- おしょう
  Standard kanji spelling for the common reading おしょう. Also used for the readings かしょう and わじょう in specific Buddhist contexts.
- かしょう
- わじょう

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 和尚 (hwa dzyang), originally a transcription of Sanskrit upādhyāya 'teacher, preceptor'. The kanji 和 ('harmony') and 尚 ('esteem') were used phonetically. The variant 和上 is also found in some Buddhist traditions.

オショウUsage<1%

和上

わじょう
Alternate kanji form used in some Buddhist traditions for the reading わじょう.
かしょう

かしょう

わじょう