Chinese word

僧人

Pronunciation

Pinyinsēng rén

Meaning

  • nounmonk

Example

他决定出家当僧人。tā jué dìng chū jiā dāng sēng rén

He decided to become a monk.

Illustration for 僧人 (monk)

More examples

许多僧人过着简朴的生活。xǔ duō sēng rén guò zhe jiǎn pǔ de shēng huó

Many monks lead simple lives.

Core concept

A person who leaves ordinary secular life to live within a Buddhist community and perform religious duties.

Common phrases

  • 出家做僧人chū jiā zuò sēng rén

    become a monk

  • 在寺庙做僧人zài sì miào zuò sēng rén

    serve as a monk in a temple

  • 法会上的僧人fǎ huì shàng de sēng rén

    monk at a Buddhist ceremony

Similar words

僧侣sēng lǚ: A collective term for people who have given up ordinary life to become Buddhist monastics.
和尚hé shàng: A male Buddhist monk who manages temple duties and leads religious ceremonies.
尼姑ní gū: A woman who has entered Buddhist monastic life and resides in a temple.

Definition in Chinese

指出家后在寺院或佛教团体中生活并从事佛教事务的个人。zhǐ chū jiā hòu zài sì yuàn huò fó jiào tuán tǐ zhōng shēng huó bìng cóng shì fó jiào shì wù de gè rén

Word origin

The compound uses 僧 (sēng, "Buddhist monk") for the monastic role and 人 (rén, "person") to make the individual referent explicit.

Usage tips

  • For conversational Chinese, recognizing this as a relatively formal noun helps learners understand why it may sound more documentary when used in ordinary daily talk.

Opposites

  • 俗人sú rénlaypersonnoun

Related words

  • 僧侣sēng lǚmonknoun

Word lists with this word