お坊ぼうさん

お

ぼ

う

さ

ん

Common wordJLPTN1

Meanings

1

noun

Buddhist priest; monk

familiar languagehonorific or respectful (sonkeigo)

A familiar but respectful everyday way to refer to a Buddhist priest or monk. More formal writing may use 僧侶.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉がお坊ぼうさんになるfor someone to become a Buddhist monk/priest
彼かれは大だい学がくを出でてからお坊ぼうさんになった。
He became a Buddhist priest after finishing university.
お坊ぼうさんにお経きょうを読よんでもらうto have a priest chant a sutra (e.g. at a funeral or memorial service)
法ほう事じでお坊ぼうさんにお経きょうを読よんでもらった。
We had a priest chant a sutra at the memorial service.

Kanji

坊boy, priest's residence, priest

Related words

お坊ぼっちゃん sense 2
お坊っちゃん is the more common and natural word for referring to someone else's son, while お坊さん in this sense feels old-fashioned or very familiar.
坊ぼうさんN2sense 1
坊さん is a blunter, less polite way to say お坊さん, dropping the honorific お- prefix.
おっさん
お坊さん is the standard, respectful term for a Buddhist priest, whereas おっさん is a very casual and slightly irreverent way to refer to one.

Politeness

僧そう侶りょpolite 丁寧語N1sense 1
お坊さん is the familiar, everyday way to refer to a Buddhist priest, while 僧侶 is the formal, neutral term used in writing or official contexts.
坊ぼうplain
お坊さん is the polite, everyday way to refer to a Buddhist monk, while 坊 alone sounds blunt or old-fashioned and is rarely used standalone in polite speech.
坊ぼうさんplainN2
お坊さん is a softer, slightly more polite everyday term for a Buddhist priest, while 坊さん is more blunt and casual.

Don't confuse with

お嬢じょうさんN4
お坊さん (a Buddhist monk) sounds similar to お嬢さん (a young lady/someone's daughter) but has a completely different meaning.

Counted with

人にん
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).
名めいN2
More formal than 人 — used for headcounts in reservations, staff lists, and announcements (5名様).

Etymology

Formed from the respectful prefix お, 坊 as in 坊さん for a Buddhist priest or boy, and the honorific suffix さん. The spelling お坊さん conventionally reflects this formation.

坊ぼう主ずplainN1

お坊さん is the polite, respectful way to refer to a Buddhist priest, while 坊主 is the neutral or sometimes casual/derogatory term for the same person.