---
title: "Pusa Meaning: 菩萨 (púsà) Means “bodhisattva”"
description: "菩萨 (traditional 菩薩, púsà) means “bodhisattva”. Hear its tones, see what 菩 and 萨 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/pusa"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 菩萨 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

菩萨 púsà

## bodhisattva

## It can also mean

- (fig.) kindhearted person

## Its characters

1. 菩 pú (used in 菩萨, 菩提)
2. 萨 sà bodhisattva (as in 菩萨)

## In a sentence

小白龙听了，马上从水里出来，变成一个年轻人，拜了拜：“**菩萨**，我在这里等了很久，可是一直没有人说‘取经’这两个字。

From [白龙马 · The White Dragon Horse](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-white-dragon-horse-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-12#library-word-543-545)

[More about 菩萨](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%8F%A9%E8%90%A8)

## Keep 菩萨 for Review

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## Look up another word

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[How it compares with Zhongwen](https://mandarinthewild.com/compare/zhongwen)