佛祖 (fó zǔ) — Buddha (the founder of Buddhism); Buddhist patr… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

佛祖 (fózǔ) is an honorific title meaning 'the Buddha' or revered Buddhist patriarch — a reverent term used when referring to Siddhartha Gautama or other venerated Buddhist figures.

noun

Buddha (the founder of Buddhism)Buddhist patriarch (honorific)

Examples

佛祖。
Xǔ duō xìn tú měi tiān xiàng fó zǔ qí dǎo.
Many believers pray to the Buddha every day.
佛祖。
fó zǔ De jiào huì yǐng xiǎng le zhěng gè dōng yà wén huà.
The Buddha's teachings influenced all of East Asian culture.
佛祖。
Zhè zuò sì miào lǐ gòng fèng zhe yì zūn fó zǔ xiàng.
This temple enshrines a statue of the Buddha.

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

祖zǔpatriarch

佛 refers to Buddha and 祖 means patriarch, giving the name of the Buddha as founder.

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.

亻弗佛

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.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

祖 was made by adding 示 to 且, and 且 gives the sound.

Appears in

Religion & Belief

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