佛法 (fó fǎ) — Buddhist doctrine; the Dharma (the teachings and truth of the Buddha)

Definition

佛法 is the Dharma itself — the Buddha's teachings and truth — rather than the religion as a whole (佛教) or a specific text (佛经).

noun
Buddhist doctrinethe Dharma (the teachings and truth of the Buddha)

Examples

  • 佛法,。
    Tā yì shēng dōu zài xué xí fó fǎ, zuì zhōng chéng wéi le yí wèi gāo sēng.
    He spent his whole life studying the Dharma and eventually became a great monk.
  • 佛法。
    Zhè bù jīng diǎn xiáng xì chǎn shù le fó fǎ de hé xīn sī xiǎng.
    This scripture elaborates on the core ideas of Buddhist doctrine.
  • ,佛法。
    Sì miào lǐ de sēng rén men měi tiān zǎo wǎn sòng jīng, hóng yáng fó fǎ.
    The monks in the temple chant sutras morning and evening to propagate the Dharma.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

佛fóBuddha
法fǎdharma/law

佛 (Buddha) and 法 (dharma/law) together mean the Buddha's teaching.

Characters in this word

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
弗
弗fú佛Fó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

佛 is made from 亻, a person, and 弗, which gives the sound.

Open 佛 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.