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佛

Fó / fú
noun #4,455

Meanings

  1. 1 Buddha
  2. 2 Buddhism (short for 佛教)
  3. 3 Buddha statue; figure of a Buddha

Examples

这座寺庙里有一尊巨大的佛像。
Zhè zuò sìmiào lǐ yǒu yī zūn jùdà de Fóxiàng.
There is a huge Buddha statue in this temple.
他信佛。
Tāxìn Fó.
He is a Buddhist.
佛说，众生平等。
Fó shuō, zhòngshēng píngděng.
Buddha said all living beings are equal.

Tips

culture
Buddhism has deeply shaped Chinese culture. Many everyday idioms come from Buddhist concepts: 放下屠刀，立地成佛 (put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot — it's never too late to mend); 临时抱佛脚 (to clutch the Buddha's feet at the last minute — to cram). Modern slang gives 佛系 — "Buddha-style" — meaning laid-back, whatever-happens-happens.
mistakes
佛 has a second reading 佛 used in exactly one common word: 仿佛 (as if; seemingly). Everywhere else — Buddha, Buddhism, Buddha statue, Buddha-style, transliterations like 佛罗里达 (Florida) or 哈佛 (Harvard) — stays Fó.

Components

radical
亻 rén
person (radical form)
Left person radical — the side-form of 人. Marks 佛 as a humanoid figure: the Buddha is depicted as an enlightened being, hence the person radical. Same anchor in 你 (you), 他 (he), 们 (plural), 像 (image).
phonetic
弗 fú
not (classical); phonetic
Right 弗 supplies the sound exactly: fú (the older reading of 佛 as a transliteration of Sanskrit "Buddha-"). 弗 itself is a classical negation particle. Pure phonetic role — the meaning of "not" has nothing to do with Buddha. Same phonetic in 拂 (brush) and 沸 (boil).

Stroke Order

佛 Fó