僧

僧 U+50E7, 僧 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-50E7 ← 僦 [U+50E6] CJK Unified Ideographs 僨 → [U+50E8]

僧 U+FA31, 僧 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-FA31 ← 侮 [U+FA30] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 免 → [U+FA32]

僧 U+2F80A, 僧 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F80A ← 備 [U+2F809] CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 像 → [U+2F80B]

Translingual

Japanese	僧
Simplified	僧
Traditional	僧

Alternative forms

Note difference between Chinese form, which uses 曾, and Japanese shinjitai which uses 曽. Both forms are encoded under the same codepoint due to Han unification.

Han character

僧 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+12 in Chinese, 人+11 in Japanese, 14 strokes in Chinese, 13 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 人金田日 (OCWA), four-corner 2826₆, composition ⿰亻曾 (GTKV) or ⿰亻曽 (J))

Derived characters

• 𫣸

Related characters

• 增 (増), 憎

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 117, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1076
• Dae Jaweon: page 248, character 20
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 222, character 1
• Unihan data for U+50E7

• Unihan data for U+FA31

• Unihan data for U+2F80A

Chinese

simp. and trad.		僧

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 僧
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Small seal script s05925 Transcribed ancient scripts L11518 L11519
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (曾) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
潧	*ʔsrɯn
繒	*ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯŋ
增	*ʔsɯːŋ, *ʔsɯːŋs
憎	*ʔsɯːŋ
磳	*ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯŋ
曾	*ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯːŋ
矰	*ʔsɯːŋ
罾	*ʔsɯːŋ
熷	*ʔsɯːŋ
竲	*ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯŋ
橧	*ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯŋ
譄	*ʔsɯːŋ
蹭	*sʰɯːŋs
層	*zɯːŋ
贈	*zɯːŋs
僧	*sɯːŋ
鬙	*sɯːŋ
甑	*ʔsɯŋs
鄫	*zɯŋ
驓	*zɯŋ
嶒	*zɯŋ
噌	*sʰɯːŋ
鏳	*zrɯːŋ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sɯːŋ) : semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 曾 (OC *ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯːŋ) – a kind of person (a Buddhist monk).

Etymology

Clipping of 僧伽 (MC song gja, “sangha; community of monks, nuns, novices and laity”); see there for more.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sēng (seng¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄙㄥ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zang¹ / sang¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sên
• Eastern Min (BUC): cĕng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chng / cheng / sng / seng

  (Teochew, Peng'im): zêng¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹sen

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sēng
    • Zhuyin: ㄙㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: seng
    • Wade–Giles: sêng¹
    • Yale: sēng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: seng
    • Palladius: сэн (sɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɤŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zang¹ / sang¹
    • Yale: jāng / sāng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzang¹ / sang¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: zeng¹ / seng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɐŋ⁵⁵/, /sɐŋ⁵⁵/

Note:

• sang1 - literary;
• zang1 - vernacular.

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sên
    • Hakka Romanization System: sen^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: sen¹
    • Sinological IPA: /sen²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: cĕng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɛiŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chng
    • Tâi-lô: tsng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zngf
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sŋ̍³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: cheng
    • Tâi-lô: tsing
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zefng
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡siɪŋ⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sng
    • Tâi-lô: sng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sngf
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sŋ̍³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: seng
    • Tâi-lô: sing
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sefng
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /siɪŋ⁴⁴/

Note:

• chng, cheng - vernacular;
• sng, seng - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: zêng¹
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tseng
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡seŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹sen
    • MiniDict: sen^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹sen
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /sən⁵³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 僧
Mandarin	Beijing	/səŋ⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/t͡səŋ⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/səŋ²¹/
	Jinan	/səŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/səŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/səŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/səŋ²¹/
	Xining	/sə̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/səŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/sə̃n³¹/
	Ürümqi	/sɤŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/sən⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/sən⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/sen⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/sə̃⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/sən³¹/
	Hefei	/sən²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/səŋ¹¹/
	Pingyao	/səŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/sə̃ŋ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/səŋ⁵³/
	Suzhou	/sən⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/sen³³/
	Wenzhou	/saŋ³³/
Hui	Shexian	/sʌ̃³¹/
	Tunxi	/sɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sən³³/
	Xiangtan	/t͡sən³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/sɛn⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/sen⁴⁴/
	Taoyuan	/sen²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/sɐŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/t͡sɐŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/sɐŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/siŋ⁵⁵/ /t͡siŋ⁵⁵/ 俗
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/t͡sɛiŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/t͡saiŋ⁴⁴/ /saiŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡seŋ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/t͡sɔŋ³³/ /t͡seŋ³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: song

Rime
Character	僧
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	登 (129)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	蘇增切
Baxter	song
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/səŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/səŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/səŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/səŋ/
Li Rong	/səŋ/
Wang Li	/səŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/səŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	sēng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sang1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*sɯːŋ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	僧
Reading #	1/1
No.	16628
Phonetic component	曾
Rime group	蒸
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	僧
Old Chinese	/*sɯːŋ/
Notes	梵譯僧伽saṁɡha省稱

Definitions

僧

1. (Buddhism) monk; bonze
2. (Buddhism) sangha
3. (Church of the East, historical) priest
4. a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 和尚 (“Buddhist monk”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		和尚, 比丘, 僧, 僧人, 僧侶, 禪師 honorific
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	和尚
	Taiwan	和尚
	Chengde	和尚
	Chifeng	和尚
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	和尚
	Heihe	和尚
	Qiqihar	和尚
	Harbin	和尚
	Jiamusi	和尚
	Baicheng	和尚
	Changchun	和尚
	Tonghua	和尚
	Shenyang	和尚
	Jinzhou	和尚
	Singapore	和尚, 師父
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	和尚
	Tangshan	和尚
	Cangzhou	和尚
	Baoding	和尚
	Shijiazhuang	和尚
	Lijin	和尚
	Jinan	和尚, 僧人
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	和尚
	Dandong	和尚
	Yantai	和尚
	Yantai (Muping)	和尚
	Qingdao	和尚
	Zhucheng	和尚
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	和尚
	Lingbao	和尚
	Jining	和尚
	Wanrong	和尚
	Linfen	和尚
	Shangqiu	和尚
	Yuanyang	和尚
	Zhengzhou	和尚
	Xinyang	和尚
	Baihe	和尚
	Xi'an	和尚
	Baoji	和尚
	Tianshui	和尚
	Xining	和尚
	Xuzhou	和尚
	Fuyang	和尚
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	和尚
	Lanzhou	和尚
	Dunhuang	和尚
	Hami	和尚
	Ürümqi	和尚
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	和尚
	Nanchong	和尚
	Dazhou	和尚
	Hanyuan	和尚
	Xichang	和尚
	Zigong	和尚
	Chongqing	和尚
	Wuhan	和尚
	Yichang	和尚
	Xiangyang	和尚
	Tianmen	和尚
	Guiyang	和尚, 師父
	Zunyi	和尚
	Bijie	和尚
	Liping	和尚
	Zhaotong	和尚
	Dali	和尚
	Kunming	和尚
	Mengzi	和尚
	Guilin	和尚
	Guilin (Lingui)	和尚
	Liuzhou	和尚, 師父
	Liuzhou (Luorong)	和尚
	Nanning (Wuming)	和尚
	Jishou	和尚
	Changde	和尚
	Hanzhong	和尚
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	和尚
	Yangzhou	和尚
	Lianyungang	和尚
	Lianshui	和尚
	Nantong	和尚
	Anqing	和尚
	Wuhu	和尚
	Hefei	和尚
	Hong'an	和尚
Cantonese	Guangzhou	和尚
	Hong Kong	和尚
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	和尚
	Macau	和尚
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	和尚
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	和尚
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	和尚
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	和尚
	Foshan	和尚
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	和尚
	Foshan (Shunde)	和尚
	Foshan (Sanshui)	和尚
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	和尚
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	和尚
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	和尚
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	和尚
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	和尚
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	和尚
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	和尚
	Taishan	和尚
	Kaiping (Chikan)	和尚
	Enping (Niujiang)	和尚
	Heshan (Yayao)	和尚
	Dongguan	和尚
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	和尚
	Qingyuan	和尚
	Fogang	和尚
	Yingde (Hanguang)	和尚
	Yangshan	和尚
	Lianshan (Butian)	和尚
	Lianzhou (Qingshui; Sihui)	和尚
	Shaoguan	和尚
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	和尚
	Renhua	和尚
	Lechang	和尚
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	和尚
	Sihui	和尚
	Guangning	和尚
	Deqing	和尚
	Huaiji	和尚
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	和尚
	Yunfu	和尚
	Xinxing	和尚
	Luoding	和尚
	Yunan (Pingtai)	和尚
	Xinyi	和尚
	Lianjiang	和尚
	Nanning	和尚
	Wuzhou	和尚
	Yulin	和尚
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	和尚
	Guiping	和尚
	Mengshan (Xihe)	和尚
	Guigang (Nanjiang)	和尚
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	和尚
	Baise	和尚
	Bobai	和尚
	Lingshan	和尚
	Pubei	和尚
	Qinzhou	和尚
	Beihai	和尚
	Ningming	和尚
	Hengzhou	和尚
	Hezhou (Pumen, Babu)	和尚
Gan	Nanchang	和尚
	Pengze	和尚
	Lichuan	和尚
	Pingxiang	和尚
Hakka	Meixian	和尚, 齋公
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	和尚
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	和尚
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	和尚
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	和尚
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	和尚
	Yudu	和尚
	Ruijin	和尚
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	和尚, 齋公仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	和尚, 齋牯, 齋公
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	和尚, 齋公仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	和尚, 齋公
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	和尚, 齋公仔
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	和尚
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	和尚
	Beiliu (Tang'an)	和尚
	Mashan (Pianlian)	師父
Huizhou	Jixi	和尚
	Shexian	和尚
Jin	Taiyuan	和尚
	Pingyao	和尚
	Yangyuan	和尚
	Datong	和尚
	Xinzhou	和尚
	Lüliang (Lishi)	和尚
	Changzhi	和尚
	Linhe	和尚
	Jining	和尚
	Hohhot	和尚
	Erenhot	和尚
	Pingshan	和尚
	Zhangjiakou	和尚
	Handan	和尚
	Linzhou	和尚
	Suide	和尚
Northern Min	Jian'ou	道老
	Songxi	長老
	Zhenghe	長老
	Jianyang	長老
	Wuyishan	長老
	Pucheng (Shibei)	長老
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	和尚
	Fuqing	和尚, 仙師
Southern Min	Xiamen	和尚
	Quanzhou	和尚
	Zhangzhou	和尚
	Taipei	和尚
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	和尚
	Kaohsiung	和尚
	Yilan	和尚
	Changhua (Lukang)	和尚
	Taichung	和尚
	Tainan	和尚
	Hsinchu	和尚
	Kinmen	和尚
	Penghu (Magong)	和尚
	Penang (Hokkien)	和尚
	Manila (Hokkien)	和尚
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	和尚
	Datian	和尚
	Shunchang (Pushang)	和尚
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	和尚
	Chaozhou	和尚
	Shantou	師父
	Shantou (Chenghai)	師父
	Jieyang	和尚
	Leizhou	和尚
	Haikou	和尚
Puxian Min	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	和尚
Central Min	Yong'an	和尚, 長老
	Sanming (Sanyuan)	長老
	Sanming (Shaxian)	和尚
Shaojiang Min	Shaowu	和尚
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	和尚
	Zhongshan (Sanxiang)	和尚
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	和尚
	Nanning (Shajing)	和尚
	Binyang (Xinqiao)	和尚
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	和尚
	Guilin (Chaoyang)	和尚
	Guilin (Zhuyuan)	和尚
	Lingchuan (Tanxia)	和尚
Wu	Shanghai	和尚
	Shanghai (Songjiang)	和尚
	Shanghai (Jiading)	和尚
	Shanghai (Chongming)	和尚
	Suzhou	和尚
	Danyang	和尚
	Hangzhou	和尚
	Ningbo	和尚
	Wenzhou	和尚
	Jinhua	和尚
Xiang	Changsha	和尚
	Loudi	齋公
	Quanzhou	和尚
	Guanyang (Wenshi)	和尚

Compounds

• 不僧不俗
• 僧人 (sēngrén)
• 僧伽
• 僧伽藍／僧伽蓝
• 僧俗 (sēngsú)
• 僧侶／僧侣 (sēnglǚ)
• 僧侶主義／僧侣主义
• 僧塔 (sēngtǎ)
• 僧多粥少 (sēngduōzhōushǎo)
• 僧官
• 僧尼 (sēngní)
• 僧徒 (sēngtú)
• 僧房
• 僧殘／僧残
• 僧眾／僧众
• 僧祇 (sēngqí)
• 僧祐
• 僧綱／僧纲
• 僧肇
• 僧行
• 僧衣
• 僧道
• 僧院 (sēngyuàn)
• 僧鞋
• 削髮為僧／削发为僧
• 和合僧
• 奉道齋僧／奉道斋僧
• 女僧
• 密陀僧 (mìtuósēng)
• 小僧 (xiǎosēng)
• 尼僧 (nísēng)
• 情僧錄／情僧录
• 替僧
• 火宅僧
• 知事僧
• 粥少僧多
• 粥飯僧／粥饭僧
• 老僧 (lǎosēng)
• 老僧入定
• 聖僧／圣僧
• 胡僧
• 苦行僧 (kǔxíngsēng)
• 行腳僧／行脚僧
• 衲僧
• 貧僧／贫僧 (pínsēng)
• 門僧／门僧
• 阿僧祇 (āsēngqí)
• 雲水僧／云水僧
• 非洲和尚——黑人僧
• 高僧 (gāosēng)
• 齋僧／斋僧

 

References

• “僧”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Shinjitai	僧
Kyūjitai	僧 僧 or 僧+︀?
	僧󠄁 僧+󠄁? (Adobe-Japan1)
	僧󠄅 僧+󠄅? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Glyph origin

Japanese shinjitai form: 僧 (曾 → 曽).

Kanji

僧

(Jōyō kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 僧)

1. Buddhist priest
2. monk

Readings

• Go-on: そう (sō, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: そう (sō, Jōyō)
• Kun: ぼうず (bōzu, 僧)

Compounds

• 仏(ぶっ)法(ぽう)僧(そう) (buppōsō)
• 僧(そう)位(い) (sōi)
• 僧(そう)伽(ぎゃ) (sōgya)
• 僧(そう)俗(ぞく) (sōzoku)
• 僧(そう)侶(りょ) (sōryo)
• 僧(そう)兵(へい) (sōhei)
• 僧(そう)号(ごう) (sōgō)
• 僧(そう)坊(ぼう), 僧(そう)房(ぼう) (sōbō)
• 僧(そう)堂(どう) (sōdō)
• 僧(そう)家(か) (sōka)
• 僧(そう)寺(じ) (sōji)
• 僧(そう)尼(に) (sōni)
• 僧(そう)帽(ぼう)弁(べん) (sōbōben)
• 僧(そう)庵(あん) (sōan)
• 僧(そう)形(ぎょう) (sōgyō)
• 僧(そう)服(ふく) (sōfuku)
• 僧(そう)正(じょう) (sōjō)
• 僧(そう)籍(せき) (sōseki)
• 僧(そう)綱(ごう) (sōgō)
• 僧(そう)職(しょく) (sōshoku)
• 僧(そう)衣(い) (sōi)
• 僧(そう)都(ず) (sōzu)
• 僧(そう)門(もん) (sōmon)
• 僧(そう)院(いん) (sōin)
• 売(まい)僧(す) (maisu)
• 学(がく)僧(そう) (gakusō)
• 小(こ)僧(ぞう) (kozō)
• 尼(に)僧(そう) (nisō)
• 禅(ぜん)僧(そう) (zensō)
• 高(こう)僧(そう) (kōsō)

 

Etymology

Clipping of 僧伽 (sōgya), borrowed from Sanskrit संघ (saṃgha).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) そー [sóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [so̞ː]

Noun

僧(そう) • (sō) 

1. a (Buddhist) priest, bonze

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 僧 (MC song).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	스ᇰ (Yale: sùng)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[3]	쥬ᇰ〯 (Yale: cywǔng)	스ᇰ (Yale: sùng)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰɯŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [승]

Hanja

Wikisource

僧 (eumhun 중 승 (jung seung))

1. hanja form^? of 승 (“a Buddhist monk”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 승려 (僧侶, seungnyeo)
• 승원 (僧院, seung'won)
• 승가 (僧伽, seungga)
• 승가 (僧家, seungga)
• 이승 (尼僧, iseung)
• 불법승 (佛法僧, bulbeopseung)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

Vietnamese

Han character

僧: Hán Việt readings: tăng (蘇(tô)增(tăng)切(thiết))

1. (Buddhism) priest, bonze