부처

Korean

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [put͡ɕʰʌ̹]
• Phonetic hangul: [부처]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	bucheo
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	bucheo
McCune–Reischauer?	puch'ŏ
Yale Romanization?	pu.che

Etymology 1

First attested in the Seokbo sangjeol (釋譜詳節 / 석보상절), 1447, as Middle Korean 부텨 (Yale: Pwùthyè), from Late Old Korean 佛體 (*PWUthye?), from Proto-Koreanic *Pwutukye, which was also loaned into Manchu ᡶᡠᠴᡳᡥᡳ (fucihi, “Buddha”) and Japanese 仏(ほとけ) (hotoke, “Buddha”) when Koreans spread Buddhism to those peoples. See the Proto-Korean entry for more. The first two syllables are ultimately from Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddhá), via Middle Chinese 佛陀 (MC bjut da) or some similar Sinitic form. Thomas Pellard speculates that the final element is an ancient Koreanic word for "king; lord".

부처 (Bucheo)

The traditional etymology still given in Korean dictionaries is that this is a non-Sino-Korean form of the Chinese phrase 佛體 (MC bjut thejX), meaning "body of the Buddha", but this is problematic both phonologically (pitch accent and vocalism mismatch) and historically (inability to explain the match between Japanese and Manchu without positing a Korean source for both).

Alternative forms

• 부텨 (butyeo) — Early Modern

Proper noun

부처 • (Bucheo)

1. Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism)

   Synonyms: (less common, intentional Sanskritization) 붓다 (Butda), (less common) 불타(佛陀) (Bulta)

Noun

부처 • (bucheo)

1. a Buddha (an enlightened being in Buddhism)

   Synonyms: (less common, intentional Sanskritization) 붓다 (Butda), (less common) 불타(佛陀) (Bulta)

Derived terms

• 눈부처 (nunbucheo, “person's reflection in an eye”, literally “eye's Buddha”)
• 돌부처 (dolbucheo, “stone Buddha; someone not swayed by emotion”)
• 부처꽃 (bucheokkot, “purple loosestrife”, literally “Buddha flower”)
• 부처님 (bucheonim, “Honored Buddha”, honorific)
• 부처손 (bucheoson, “spikemoss”, literally “Buddha's hand”)

 

See also

• 석가모니(釋迦牟尼) (Seokgamoni, “Shakyamuni”, personal name of the Buddha)
• 보살(菩薩) (bosal, “bodhisattva”)
• 佛 (bul), the hanja for the Buddha

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 部 (“ministry”) 處 (“location”).

Noun

부처 • (bucheo) (hanja 部處)

1. ministries of government

Usage notes

In a contemporary South Korean context, this word refers specifically to the executive bodies called 부(部) (bu) and 처(處) (cheo), when being considered together. There are currently eighteen 부(部) (bu) and five 처(處) (cheo). Both are translated as "ministry" in English.

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 夫妻, from 夫 (“husband”) 妻 (“wife”).

Noun

부처 • (bucheo) (hanja 夫妻)

1. (formal) married couple, husband and wife

   Synonym: (much more common) 부부(夫婦) (bubu)