弁べん財ざい天てん

also: べざいてん

べ

ん

ざ

い

て

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

Benzaiten; Saraswati; goddess of music, eloquence, art, wealth and water

One of the Seven Gods of Fortune (七福神). Originally the Hindu goddess Saraswati, she is worshipped in Japan as the deity of everything that flows: water, music, eloquence, and wealth.

Kanji

弁valve, petal, braid
財property, money, wealth
天heavens, sky, imperial
才genius, years old, cubic shaku
辨discrimination, dispose of, distinguish
辯speech, dialect

Related words

七しち福ふく神じん
Benzaiten is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune; 七福神 refers to the group as a whole.
サラスヴァティー
The original Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, and arts, from whom Benzaiten derives.

Written forms

弁財天
- べんざいてん
  Most common modern spelling; 財 (wealth) reflects her role as a goddess of fortune.
- べざいてん
  rarely-used kana form
弁才天
- べんざいてん
  Alternate spelling using 才 (talent), emphasizing her association with eloquence and the arts.
- べざいてん
  rarely-used kana form

Etymology

From Sanskrit Saraswati, via Chinese 辯才天 (Biàncáitiān) or 弁才天. The Japanese reading べんざいてん is a regular on'yomi adaptation. The variant べざいてん is a contraction.

辨べん財ざい天てん

out-dated kanji form

Historical spelling with outdated kanji 辨.

辯べん才ざい天てん

out-dated kanji form

Historical spelling with outdated kanji 辯.

べざいてん

rarely-used kana form

Rarely used kana form; the reading べざいてん is a contraction of べんざいてん.