起おき上あがり小こ法ぼ師し

お

き

あ

が

り

こ

ぼ

し

Common word

Meanings

1

noun

tumbler doll; self-righting doll; Daruma doll

A traditional Japanese roly-poly toy, often a round Daruma-shaped doll that rights itself when pushed over. Also used metaphorically for a person who bounces back from adversity.

Written forms

起おき上あがり小こ法ぼ師し
Standard kanji spelling; 小法師 is the original kanji for こぼし.
起おき上あがりこぼし
Common simplified spelling; こぼし is written in kana.
起おき上あがり小法師こぼし
Variant with 上り instead of 上がり; less common.
起上小法師おきあがりこぼし
Abbreviated variant; rarely used.

Kanji

起rouse, wake up, get up
上above, up
小little, small
法method, law, rule
師expert, teacher, master

Similar words

不ふ倒とう翁おう
Literary or archaic term for a tumbler doll; 起き上がり小法師 is the common modern word.
だるま
A Daruma doll is a specific type of tumbler doll, often associated with goal-setting. 起き上がり小法師 can refer to any self-righting doll, including Daruma.

Etymology

Compound of 起き上がり (okiagari, 'getting up') + 小法師 (koboshi, 'little priest'). The name describes the doll's action of rising up like a little priest.