noun
Refers to a Buddhist monk. 'Bonze' is an older term from European writings; 'monk' is the standard modern gloss.
あの坊は毎朝お経をあげている。
That monk chants sutras every morning.
noun
monk's dwelling
Only with reading ぼう
Restricted to reading ぼう. Refers to the living quarters of a Buddhist monk.
山の上の坊から鐘の音が聞こえる。
The sound of the bell can be heard from the monk's dwelling on the mountain.
noun
Affectionate or familiar term for a young boy or one's own son. Can be used as a form of address.
うちの坊はまだ小学生だ。
Our boy is still in elementary school.
坊、ちょっとこっちにおいで。
Hey, sonny, come here for a moment.
noun
Only with reading ぼう
Restricted to reading ぼう. Used by male children as a first-person pronoun. Informal and childish.
坊、今日は公園に行きたいんだ。
I wanna go to the park today.
suffix
person who is ...
Only with reading ぼう
Restricted to reading ぼう. Suffix indicating a person characterized by the preceding word. Often preceded by ん, e.g., けちん坊 (miser), 食いしん坊 (glutton).
彼は本当に食いしん坊だね。
He's a real glutton, isn't he.
あのけちん坊がおごるなんて珍しい。
It's rare for that miser to treat us.
Kana spelling is common in informal writing, especially for the 'boy' and suffix senses.
Polite and common term for a Buddhist monk, while 坊 alone is more casual or can be part of a name.
Affectionate term for a little boy; 坊 can be used similarly but is less common as a standalone address.
Also means monk, but can be more colloquial or even derogatory; also used for a shaved head or a young boy.
From Middle Chinese 坊 (pjang), originally meaning 'ward' or 'section of a city', later extended to 'monk's quarters' and then to 'monk'. The 'boy' and suffix uses are Japanese developments, likely from the association of young boys with shaven-headed monks or from the affectionate use of temple-related terms.