also: もくぐう · ぼくぐう
noun
wooden doll; wooden figure
Refers to a carved wooden doll or figure, often used in traditional contexts. The reading でく is most common; もくぐう and ぼくぐう are rare literary/technical readings.
この木偶は江戸時代の職人が作ったものだ。
This wooden doll was made by a craftsman in the Edo period.
noun
Only with reading でく
Used for a puppet, especially a traditional wooden puppet. Restricted to the reading でく.
彼は木偶を操って物語を語る。
He tells a story by manipulating a puppet.
noun
blockhead; good-for-nothing; fool
Only with reading でく
Figurative use, often in the phrase 木偶の坊 (でくのぼう), meaning a useless person or blockhead. Restricted to the reading でく.
See also: 木偶の坊
あいつは本当に木偶の坊だな。
That guy is really a blockhead.
何もできない木偶にはなりたくない。
I don't want to become a good-for-nothing who can't do anything.
Alternate on'yomi reading, rare and mostly literary or technical.
Alternate on'yomi reading, rare and mostly literary or technical.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for the figurative 'blockhead' sense.
A common fixed expression meaning 'blockhead' or 'useless person', derived from 木偶 (puppet/doll) + 坊 (boy). More idiomatic than 木偶 alone for the figurative sense.
The kanji 木 (tree/wood) and 偶 (puppet/idol) combine to mean 'wooden doll'. The reading でく is a jukujikun (special kanji reading) likely derived from 出 (で) + 来 (く) or related to でく (a wooden doll). The exact derivation is uncertain.