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菩萨 (Pú sà) — (Buddhism) Bodhisattva — an enlightened being who postpones nirvana to help others

Definition

菩萨 (Púsà) is the Chinese term for a Bodhisattva — an enlightened Buddhist figure who stays in the world to save others. Often used respectfully to call someone kind-hearted (菩萨心肠).

noun
(Buddhism) Bodhisattva — an enlightened being who postpones nirvana to help others
Measure word · 尊

Examples

  • 菩萨。
    Tā měi tiān zǎo chén dōu xiàng Pú sà qí dǎo.
    She prays to the Bodhisattva every morning.
  • 菩萨。
    Pú sà De cí bēi xīn gǎn dòng le wú shù xìn tú.
    The Bodhisattva's compassion has moved countless believers.
  • 菩萨。
    Zhè zuò sì miào lǐ gòng fèng zhe yì zūn Pú sà xiàng.
    This temple houses a statue of the Bodhisattva.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

菩pú
萨sà

The characters 菩 and 萨 spell the foreign Buddhist term and carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu菩
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

菩 is made from 艹 (grass) and 咅, which gives the sound.

Open 菩 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 萨 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Religion & Belief

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