佛

Anything related to Buddhist teaching, statues, or scriptures.

A phono-semantic compound:

人 (“person, human”) — semantic element

弗 (bul, phonetic element, “not / to refuse”) — provides sound

Originally, 佛 together with 仿 was used in the compound 彷彿 meaning “to resemble, to seem like.”

With the introduction of Buddhism into China, 佛 was repurposed as a phonetic loan to transcribe the Indic word Buddha (Skt. बुद्ध, buddha).

佛陀 (불타, fótuó) - “Buddha”

Later shortened to 佛, which came to stand for “Buddha” by itself.

佛陀 (불타) — Buddha

佛教 (불교) — Buddhism

佛像 (불상) — Buddha statue

佛經 (불경) — Buddhist scripture

佛心 (불심) — Buddha’s heart; Buddhist compassion

南無阿彌陀佛 (나무아미타불) — “Homage to Amitabha Buddha”

The Japanese simplified form 仏 originated in China during the Liang dynasty (Emperor Wu, a great Buddhist patron), created as a taboo-avoidance character for 佛. Japan later adopted it as the standard simplified form.

The form 仏 can sometimes cause amusing confusions in Japan: for example, a Korean person with the surname Im (임/林) writing イム in katakana has occasionally been mistaken for 仏 (“Buddha”) by Japanese readers.

Through cultural history, 佛 became a symbol not only of the historical Buddha but of the entire Buddhist tradition.

Religious / Philosophical Notes:

In Buddhism, 佛 denotes the awakened one, the one who has seen reality as it is. It represents enlightenment (覺) and compassion (慈悲), the union of wisdom and love.

In Confucian texts, 佛 and 佛教 were often regarded as “foreign teaching,” yet Confucian scholars sometimes borrowed Buddhist concepts of compassion, emptiness, or impermanence to enrich their moral philosophy.

In Daoism, 佛 was seen both as a rival and as a parallel figure: while Daoist sages sought harmony with the Dao, Buddhists sought enlightenment; over time, syncretism blurred the lines between the Daoist “immortal” and the Buddhist “Buddha.”

In Christian theology, 佛 can resonate with the image of Christ as the one who awakens humanity to truth and salvation. Both Buddha and Christ embody selfless compassion and liberation, though the path differs: the Buddha through meditation and wisdom, Christ through grace and sacrifice.

Thus, 佛 as a character embodies the universal human aspiration for transcendence and salvation — whether expressed in Buddhist nirvāṇa, Daoist immortality, Confucian moral harmony, or Christian eternal life.