坊主

Japanese

Kanji in this term
坊	主
ぼう Grade: S	す > ず Grade: 3
on'yomi

Etymology

Wasei kango (和製漢語), from 坊(ぼう) (bō, “section of a town and its streets”) + 主(ず) (zu, “lord, master”). The kanji 坊 originally referred to, in Sinitic, a division of a town and the lanes surrounding it, and gradually shifted to refer to the workshops and other buildings that might be found in such a section, including temples. Thus, the term literally refers to a "temple master", i.e. a head (Buddhist) monk, eventually coming to refer to Buddhist monks in general in Japanese.

The "bald head" sense comes from the traditional shaved heads of Buddhist monks (known as 坊主刈(ぼうずが)り (bōzugari)), while the "kiddo" sense comes from the custom for young boys to have shaved heads à la said monks in traditional Japanese society.^[1]

The "monk" and "kiddo" meanings have been applied back to the constituent kanji 坊 in Japanese; see also 坊(ぼう)や (bōya) for an example.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぼーず [bóꜜòzù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [bo̞ːzɨ]

Noun

坊(ぼう)主(ず) • (bōzu) ^[3]

1. A Buddhist monk
2. A bald head, bald person
3. (slang) A young boy; kid; kiddo; sonny

Usage notes

May be used as an uncomplimentary address for a Buddhist priest or monk: Similar phonetically to 凡僧(ぼんそう) (bonsō); or ぼんぞう (bonzō): an ordinary, lowly monk.

The “bald head, bald person” sense typically refers to one that is shaved bald, though may sometimes refer to one who is naturally bald, for example due to male pattern baldness or other hair loss.

Synonyms

• (monk):
  • 法師(ほうし) (hōshi)
  • お坊(ぼう)さん (obōsan)
  • 僧(そう) (sō)
• (youngster):
  • 小僧(こぞう) (kozō)

Derived terms

• 油坊主(あぶらぼうず) (aburabōzu): skilfish
• 照(て)る照(て)る坊主(ぼうず) (teru teru bōzu): lit. "shine shine monk"
• 坊主頭(ぼうずあたま) (bōzuatama): shaved head
• 丸坊主(まるぼうず) (marubōzu): clean shaven
• 三日坊主(みっかぼうず) (mikkabōzu): (literally, three day priest) someone who cannot stick to anything, someone who gives up easily.
• 腕白坊主(わんぱくぼうず) (wanpakubōzu): naughty child, rascal
• 坊主憎(ぼうずにく)けりゃ袈裟(けさ)まで憎(にく)い (bōzu nikukerya kesa made nikui) An idiom expressing the feeling that the speaker hates everything about the subject that is spoken about. lit. "Hate the monk and you will hate his very robes."

References

1. “坊主の意味・語源・由来を詳しく解説”, in 語源由来辞典‎, 2020 July 22, archived from the original on 23 May 2024
2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.