Meaning of 佛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2])
- used in 仿佛[fang3 fu2]
- used in 彷彿|仿佛[fang3 fu2]
- (female) head ornament
- variant of 彿|佛[fu2]
How to use 佛
佛 (fó) usually appears in words about Buddhism, such as 佛教 (Fójiào, Buddhism) and 佛像 (fóxiàng, Buddha statue). It also has a second reading, fú, which you mainly see in 仿佛 (fǎngfú, as if). Example: 他仿佛没听见。(Tā fǎngfú méi tīngjiàn.) He seemed not to hear.
佛 has the person radical 亻 on the left and 弗 (fú) on the right. 弗 also helps with the sound, so picture a person who has gone beyond ordinary people: the Buddha.
Common mistake: Learners often read 仿佛 as fǎngfó. The correct reading is fǎngfú, and fó is only for the Buddha sense. Also do not confuse 佛 with 拂 (fú, to brush), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of 亻.
佛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
佛 fó · Buddha · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 佛.
Questions about 佛
What does 佛 mean?
佛 (fó) means "Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2])" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 佛?
佛 is made of 1 character: 佛 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 佛 an HSK word?
Yes. 佛 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say Buddha in Chinese?
In everyday speech, 佛 (Fó) alone often means the Buddha. The full form is 佛陀 (Fótuó), and you will also hear 佛祖 (Fózǔ). Many people say 阿弥陀佛 (Ēmítuófó) as a Buddhist phrase.
Is 佛 used in any common everyday expressions?
Yes. 佛系 (fóxì) is popular slang for a relaxed, go-with-the-flow attitude, like 佛系青年 (fóxì qīngnián), a laid-back young person. 仿佛 (fǎngfú) is also very common in writing to mean as if.