抱佛腳
See also: 抱佛脚
Chinese edit
to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug or embrace to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug or embrace; surround; cherish |
Buddha; Buddhism | role; foot; base | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (抱佛腳) | 抱 | 佛 | 腳 | |
simp. (抱佛脚) | 抱 | 佛 | 脚 | |
alternative forms | 抱佛跤 Min 抱佛骹 Min | |||
Literally: “to grab the Buddha's foot”. |
Etymology edit
The sense of "profess Buddhism" was attested in Meng Jiao's poem:
The sense of "to do something at last minute" is short for 平時不燒香,臨時抱佛腳/平时不烧香,临时抱佛脚 (píngshí bù shāoxiāng, línshí bào fójiǎo), an idiom which was derived from the above poem.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
抱⫽佛腳 (verb-object)
- to leave something to do at the last minute; to make a last-minute effort
- (original meaning, now rare) to profess Buddhism
Synonyms edit
Variety | Location | Words |
---|---|---|
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 臨時抱佛腳, 急來抱佛腳, 急時抱佛腳, 急則抱佛腳, 抱佛腳, 平時不燒香,臨時抱佛腳 | |
Mandarin | Taiwan | 臨時抱佛腳, 抱佛腳, 平時不燒香,臨時抱佛腳 |
Cantonese | Guangzhou | 閒時唔燒香,急時抱佛腳, 平時唔燒香,臨急抱佛腳 |
Hong Kong | 臨急抱佛腳, 平時唔燒香,臨急抱佛腳 | |
Kaiping (Chikan) | 臨嫁錐耳 | |
Northern Min | Jian'ou | 抱佛跤 |
Southern Min | Xiamen | 抱佛跤 |
Wu | Shanghai | 臨時抱佛腳 |
Derived terms edit
References edit
- Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “抱佛腳” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].