西せい方ほう

also: さいほう · にしがた

せ

い

ほ

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

western direction; the west

General term for the western direction or area; used in geography, navigation, and everyday contexts.

この町まちの西せい方ほうには大おおきな川かわが流ながれている。
A large river flows to the west of this town.
台たい風ふうは西せい方ほうへ進すすんで

いる

。

The typhoon is moving westward.

2

noun

Western Pure Land; Amitabha's paradise

abbreviationBuddhism

Only with reading さいほう

Buddhist abbreviation of 西方浄土; read さいほう. Refers to the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha in the west.

Written forms

西方Usage100%
- せいほう
  Standard kanji spelling for the common reading せいほう.
- さいほう
  Buddhist reading, mainly in the compound 西方浄土.
- にしがた
  Sumo-specific reading for the western fighter.
さいほう
にしがた

Kanji

西west, Spain
方direction, person, alternative

Similar words

東とう方ほう
Means 'eastern direction' or 'the east'; the opposite direction of 西方.
西さい方ほう浄じょう土ど
The full Buddhist term for the Western Pure Land; 西方 (さいほう) is its abbreviation.

Etymology

Compound of 西 (west) and 方 (direction). The Buddhist reading さいほう is the older Chinese-derived pronunciation, while せいほう is a later Sino-Japanese reading. The sumo reading にしがた uses the native Japanese reading of 西.