---
title: "Chinese Buddhist Terms: Buddha, Guanyin, 阿弥陀佛 and Om Mani Padme Hum in Chinese, With Pinyin"
description: "58 Chinese Buddhist words with pinyin and sound: Buddha 佛 and Guanyin 观音, what 阿弥陀佛 means, Om mani padme hum in Chinese, the temple, monks and nuns, the sutras, and ideas like 因果, 轮回 and 缘分."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-buddhist-words"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 58 words

# Chinese Buddhist words

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E4%BD%9B%20%E4%BD%9B%E6%95%99%20%E4%BD%9B%E9%99%80%20%E9%87%8A%E8%BF%A6%E7%89%9F%E5%B0%BC%20%E4%BD%9B%E7%A5%96%20%E5%A6%82%E6%9D%A5%20%E4%BD%9B%E6%B3%95%20%E4%B8%89%E5%AE%9D%20%E8%8F%A9%E8%90%A8%20%E8%A7%82%E9%9F%B3%20%E8%A7%82%E4%B8%96%E9%9F%B3%20%E5%BC%A5%E5%8B%92%E4%BD%9B%20%E5%9C%B0%E8%97%8F%20%E6%96%87%E6%AE%8A%20%E6%99%AE%E8%B4%A4%20%E7%BD%97%E6%B1%89%20%E5%AF%BA%E5%BA%99%20%E5%AF%BA%E9%99%A2%20%E5%A4%A7%E9%9B%84%E5%AE%9D%E6%AE%BF%20%E9%A6%99%E7%82%89%20%E7%83%A7%E9%A6%99%20%E6%8B%9C%E4%BD%9B%20%E4%BD%9B%E7%8F%A0%20%E6%9C%A8%E9%B1%BC%20%E5%BC%80%E5%85%89%20%E5%92%8C%E5%B0%9A%20%E5%B0%BC%E5%A7%91%20%E6%96%B9%E4%B8%88%20%E6%B3%95%E5%B8%88%20%E5%87%BA%E5%AE%B6%20%E6%96%BD%E4%B8%BB%20%E5%90%83%E7%B4%A0%20%E7%B4%A0%E9%A3%9F%20%E6%94%BE%E7%94%9F%20%E4%BD%9B%E7%BB%8F%20%E5%BF%B5%E7%BB%8F%20%E5%BF%83%E7%BB%8F%20%E9%87%91%E5%88%9A%E7%BB%8F%20%E7%A6%85%20%E7%A6%85%E5%AE%97%20%E5%9D%90%E7%A6%85%20%E6%89%93%E5%9D%90%20%E5%86%A5%E6%83%B3%20%E5%87%80%E5%9C%9F%20%E5%9B%A0%E6%9E%9C%20%E8%BD%AE%E5%9B%9E%20%E6%B6%85%E6%A7%83%20%E5%8A%9F%E5%BE%B7%20%E7%BC%98%E5%88%86%20%E6%85%88%E6%82%B2%20%E8%88%AC%E8%8B%A5%20%E8%8F%A9%E6%8F%90%20%E6%9E%81%E4%B9%90%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%20%E5%8D%97%E6%97%A0%20%E9%98%BF%E5%BC%A5%E9%99%80%E4%BD%9B%20%E5%96%84%E5%93%89%20%E8%89%B2%E5%8D%B3%E6%98%AF%E7%A9%BA%20%E7%A9%BA%E5%8D%B3%E6%98%AF%E8%89%B2)

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## Chants and phrases you hear in Chinese Buddhism

| | In Chinese | What it means | When it is said |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Namo Amitabha | 南无阿弥陀佛 Nāmó Ēmítuófó | Homage to Amitabha Buddha | The Pure Land chant, repeated in prayer |
| Amitabha | 阿弥陀佛 Ēmítuófó | Amitabha Buddha | A monk’s hello and thank you; “bless me” when something goes wrong |
| Om mani padme hum | 唵嘛呢叭咪吽 ǎn mā ní bā mī hōng | The six-syllable mantra | Guanyin’s mantra, written in characters for their sound |
| Namo Guanyin | 南无观世音菩萨 Nāmó Guānshìyīn Púsà | Homage to the bodhisattva Guanyin | Prayed for mercy and protection |
| Heart Sutra | 色即是空，空即是色 sè jí shì kōng, kōng jí shì sè | Form is emptiness, emptiness is form | The best-known line of the Heart Sutra, 心经 |
| Heart Sutra mantra | 揭谛揭谛，波罗揭谛 jiēdì jiēdì, bōluó jiēdì | Gone, gone, gone beyond | The mantra that ends the Heart Sutra |
| Well said | 善哉善哉 shànzāi shànzāi | Excellent, so be it | A monk’s approval, in stories and dramas |

## The Buddha and Buddhism

fó佛

Buddha; Buddhism

fó佛jiào教

Buddhism

fó佛tuó陀

(Buddhism) Buddha

shì释jiā迦móu牟ní尼

Shakyamuni; the Buddha (founder of Buddhism)

fó佛zǔ祖

the Buddha

rú如lái来

(Buddhism) Tathagata; the Buddha

fó佛fǎ法

(Buddhism) Dharma; Buddha's teachings

sān三bǎo宝

(Buddhism) the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha)

## Buddhas and bodhisattvas

pú菩sà萨

bodhisattva

guān观yīn音

Guanyin (bodhisattva of compassion)

guān观shì世yīn音

Avalokitesvara (Guanyin)

mí弥lè勒fó佛

Maitreya; the Laughing Buddha

dì地zàng藏

(Buddhism) Ksitigarbha (bodhisattva)

wén文shū殊

Manjushri (Bodhisattva of wisdom)

pǔ普xián贤

(Buddhism) Samantabhadra (bodhisattva)

luó罗hàn汉

arhat (Buddhism)

## At the temple

sì寺miào庙

temple; monastery

sì寺yuàn院

temple; monastery

dà大xióng雄bǎo宝diàn殿

Mahavira Hall; main hall of a Buddhist temple

xiāng香lú炉

incense burner

shāo烧xiāng香

to burn incense (in worship)

bài拜fó佛

to worship Buddha

fó佛zhū珠

Buddhist prayer beads; rosary

mù木yú鱼

wooden fish (Buddhist percussion instrument)

kāi开guāng光

to consecrate (a Buddhist statue, amulet)

## Monks and nuns

hé和shang尚

Buddhist monk

ní尼gū姑

Buddhist nun

fāng方zhang丈

abbot (of a Buddhist temple)

fǎ法shī师

master (title for a Buddhist or Taoist monk)

chū出jiā家

to become a monk or nun

shī施zhǔ主

alms giver; benefactor (term of address used by monks)

chī吃sù素

to be vegetarian

sù素shí食

vegetarian food; vegetarian diet

fàng放shēng生

to free captive animals (as a Buddhist act of mercy)

## Scriptures and practice

fó佛jīng经

Buddhist scripture; sutra

niàn念jīng经

to chant scriptures

xīn心jīng经

Heart Sutra (Buddhist scripture)

jīn金gāng刚jīng经

Diamond Sutra

chán禅

Zen; Chan (Buddhism)

chán禅zōng宗

Chan Buddhism; Zen

zuò坐chán禅

to meditate (in Buddhism); zazen

dǎ打zuò坐

to meditate (sitting cross-legged)

míng冥xiǎng想

meditation

jìng净tǔ土

(Buddhism) the Pure Land

## Ideas

yīn因guǒ果

cause and effect

lún轮huí回

(Buddhism) reincarnation; samsara

niè涅pán槃

(Buddhism) nirvana

gōng功dé德

merit; good deeds

yuán缘fèn分

fate; destiny (bringing people together)

cí慈bēi悲

mercy; compassion

bō般rě若

(Buddhism) prajna; wisdom

pú菩tí提

(Buddhism) enlightenment; bodhi

jí极lè乐shì世jiè界

(Buddhism) Western Paradise; land of bliss

## Sayings

nā南mó无

(Buddhism) namo; homage to

ē阿mí弥tuó陀fó佛

Amitabha Buddha

shàn善zāi哉

excellent; well said

sè色jí即shì是kōng空

(Buddhism) form is emptiness (from the Heart Sutra)

kōng空jí即shì是sè色

(Buddhism) emptiness is form

## How do you say Buddha in Chinese?

佛 (fó), or in full 佛陀 (Fótuó). The historical Buddha is 释迦牟尼 (Shìjiāmóuní), Shakyamuni, also called 佛祖 (Fózǔ) or 如来 (Rúlái), the Tathagata, as in 如来佛祖 in Journey to the West. Buddhism is 佛教 (Fójiào), and to worship the Buddha is 拜佛 (bàifó).

## What does 阿弥陀佛 mean?

阿弥陀佛 (Ēmítuófó) is Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, 西方极乐世界 (xīfāng jílè shìjiè). Chanting 南无阿弥陀佛, homage to Amitabha, is the practice of the Pure Land school, and 南无 is read nāmó, not nánwú. Monks say 阿弥陀佛 as hello, thank you and goodbye; other people say it the way English speakers say “God bless” or “thank heavens”.

## What is Om mani padme hum in Chinese?

唵嘛呢叭咪吽 (ǎn mā ní bā mī hōng), the six-syllable great bright mantra, 六字大明咒. It is the mantra of Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, and its characters were chosen for their sound, not their meaning, so the words mean nothing on their own in Chinese.

## Who is Guanyin?

观音 (Guānyīn), short for 观世音 (Guānshìyīn), the one who hears the cries of the world: the bodhisattva of compassion, 慈悲 (cíbēi), shown in China as a woman. A bodhisattva is a 菩萨 (púsà). The others you see in temples are 文殊 (Wénshū), wisdom, 普贤 (Pǔxián), 地藏 (Dìzàng), who saves souls in hell, and the fat, laughing 弥勒佛 (Mílè Fó), the Buddha to come.

## What is Chinese Buddhism called?

汉传佛教 (Hàn chuán Fójiào), Han Buddhism, a Mahayana tradition; Tibetan Buddhism is 藏传佛教 (Zàng chuán Fójiào). Its biggest schools are 禅宗 (Chánzōng), Chan, which became Zen in Japan, and 净土宗 (Jìngtǔzōng), the Pure Land. Monks and nuns, 和尚 (héshang) and 尼姑 (nígū), are vegetarian, 吃素 (chīsù), and everyday Chinese is full of Buddhist words like 缘分 (yuánfèn), fate that brings people together.

## What should you do at a Chinese temple?

At a 寺庙 (sìmiào) people light incense, 烧香 (shāoxiāng), usually three sticks, and bow to the Buddha in the main hall, the 大雄宝殿 (Dàxióng Bǎodiàn). Dress modestly, step over the high threshold rather than on it, don’t point at the statues, and check before taking photos inside a hall. Call a monk 法师 (fǎshī) or 师父 (shīfu), and greet him with your palms together.

## Can’t hear it?

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## More Chinese culture

- [Chinese philosophy terms](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-philosophy-terms)
- [Chinese gods and mythology names](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-mythology-names)
- [Chinese quotes](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-quotes)
- [Chinese etiquette](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chinese-etiquette)

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the chants from Wikipedia’s Chinese Buddhism, Amitabha and Om mani padme hum.