What is the Kanji for "Buddha"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Buddha", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Buddha" is "仏".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Hotoke".

Its onyomi reading is "Butsu".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "亻" means "Person" . And The radical "厶" means "Private" .

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "仏" mean in japanese?

"仏" means "Buddha".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fifth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

仏教: "Buddhism". 仏教 (ぶっきょう)' refers to the system of religious beliefs and practices that originated in ancient India and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha. The term encompasses the various traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices that form the foundation of this religion. Buddhism emphasizes the importance of personal spiritual development, the attainment of enlightenment, and the reduction of suffering through the eightfold path. Some key aspects of Buddhism include the four noble truths, the concept of karma, and the belief in reincarnation. Buddhism has had a profound influence on the cultural, artistic, and philosophical traditions of many countries, particularly in Asia. For example: Buddhism is the dominant religion in Japan - (仏教は日本の主要な宗教である)

仏: "Buddha". The noun '仏 (ほとけ)' refers to the Buddha, the enlightened spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism. It can be used to refer to Buddha in general, or to a specific representation or image of the Buddha. For example: I went to the temple to pray to the Buddha - (私は仏に祈るためにお寺に行きました). The Buddha statue in the garden is beautiful - (庭の仏像はとてもきれいです).

念仏: "Prayer". The Japanese noun '念仏 (ねんぶつ)' refers to a Buddhist prayer or chant, often focused on the Buddha Amida. It is a central practice in Pure Land Buddhism, where devotees repeatedly chant the name of Amida Buddha (Namu Amida Butsu) as a means of attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. These recitations are believed to cleanse the practitioner's mind and bring them closer to salvation.念仏 (ねんぶつ) is an important ritual in Buddhist temples and homes. For example: My grandmother often recites the nenbutsu - (おばあちゃんは良く念仏を唱える).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "ぶ" is read as "bu". The hiragana "つ" is read as "tsu". The hiragana "ほ" is read as "ho". The hiragana "と" is read as "to". And The hiragana "け" is read as "ke".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.