Free Chinese & Japanese Online Dictionary

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Key:

Mandarin Chinese information.
Old Wade-Giles romanization used only in Taiwan.
Japanese information.
Buddhist definition. Note: May not apply to all sects.
 Definition may be different outside of Buddhism.

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Characters Pronunciation
Romanization
Simple Dictionary Definition

人情

see styles
rén qíng
    ren2 qing2
jen ch`ing
    jen ching
 ninjou / ninjo
    にんじょう

More info & calligraphy:

Empathy / Humanity
human emotions; social relationship; friendship; favor; a good turn
(1) humanity; empathy; kindness; sympathy; (2) human nature; common sense; customs and manners
human emotions

司徒

see styles
sī tú
    si1 tu2
ssu t`u
    ssu tu
 shito
    しと

More info & calligraphy:

Stu
minister of land and people (in ancient times)
(hist) (See 六卿) Minister of Civil Administration and Social Welfare (Zhou dynasty China)

孔子

see styles
kǒng zǐ
    kong3 zi3
k`ung tzu
    kung tzu
 koushi; kuji / koshi; kuji
    こうし; くじ

More info & calligraphy:

Confucius
Confucius (551-479 BC), Chinese thinker and social philosopher, also known as 孔夫子[Kong3 fu1 zi3]
(person) Confucius; (female given name) Yoshiko
Confucius

義理


义理

see styles
yì lǐ
    yi4 li3
i li
 giri
    ぎり

More info & calligraphy:

Giri
doctrine (esp. religious); argumentation (in a speech or essay)
(noun - becomes adjective with の) (1) duty; sense of duty; honor; honour; decency; courtesy; debt of gratitude; social obligation; (can be adjective with の) (2) in-law; relation by marriage; (given name) Yoshimasa
reason

世態


世态

see styles
shì tài
    shi4 tai4
shih t`ai
    shih tai
 setai; seitai / setai; setai
    せたい; せいたい
the ways of the world; social behavior
state of society; social conditions; order of the world

社交

see styles
shè jiāo
    she4 jiao1
she chiao
 shakou / shako
    しゃこう
interaction; social contact
(noun - becomes adjective with の) social life; social intercourse

社保

see styles
shè bǎo
    she4 bao3
she pao
 shaho
    しゃほ
social insurance (abbr. for 社會保險|社会保险[she4 hui4 bao3 xian3])
(abbreviation) (See 社会保険・しゃかいほけん) social insurance

階級


阶级

see styles
jiē jí
    jie1 ji2
chieh chi
 kaikyuu / kaikyu
    かいきゅう
(social) class; CL:個|个[ge4]
(1) (social) class; (2) rank; grade

see styles
wèi
    wei4
wei
 kurai
    くらい
position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential
(1) (orig. from 座居, meaning "seat") throne; crown; (nobleman's) seat; (2) (See 位階) government position; court rank; (3) social standing; rank; class; echelon; rung; (4) grade (of quality, etc.); level; tier; rank; (5) (See 桁・2) position of a figure (e.g. tens, thousands); digit; (decimal) place; (personal name) Tadashi
Position, seat, throne.

see styles
fèn
    fen4
fen
 bun
    ぶん
part; share; ingredient; component
(n,n-suf) (1) part; portion; share; (suffix noun) (2) amount; worth (as in "two days' worth"); enough (for); (3) one's means; one's place; one's lot; one's social position; (4) one's duty; one's part; (5) condition; state (of affairs); extent; rate (as in "at this rate"); (n,adv) (6) in proportion to; just as much as; to the same degree; (suffix noun) (7) content (e.g. alcohol); percentage; (suffix noun) (8) (See 兄貴分・2) equivalent to (e.g. an old brother); (surname) Wake
To divide. separate; a fractional part: a share: a duty.

see styles

    zu2
tsu
 zoku(p); zou(ok) / zoku(p); zo(ok)
    ぞく(P); ぞう(ok)
race; nationality; ethnicity; clan; by extension, social group (e.g. office workers 上班族)
(n,n-suf) (1) tribe; clan; band; family; (n,n-suf) (2) (ぞく only) (taxonomical) tribe; (n,n-suf) (3) (ぞく only) group (of the periodic table); (female given name) Yakara
clan

see styles
zhì
    zhi4
chih
 waka
    わか
infantile; young
(1) youth; (2) child (esp. of the young son of someone of high social standing); (n-pref,n-suf) (3) young; new; baby; child; (female given name) Waka


see styles
gāng
    gang1
kang
 tsuna
    つな
head rope of a fishing net; guiding principle; key link; class (taxonomy); outline; program
(1) rope; cord; line; (2) {sumo} grand champion's braided belt; (given name) Tsunashi
A net rope, bond, social nexus, constant obligation, the restraints of society.


see styles

    la4
la
 rou / ro
    ろう
old variant of 臘|腊[la4]
(1) {Buddh} year in the Buddhist order (after the completion of the first meditation retreat); (2) becoming more experienced with age; social status based on this experience
The end of a Buddhist year; a Buddhist year; v. 臘.

see styles
ruò
    ruo4
jo
 wakahama
    わかはま
to seem; like; as; if
(1) youth; (2) child (esp. of the young son of someone of high social standing); (n-pref,n-suf) (3) young; new; (out-dated or obsolete kana usage) (adverbial noun) like; similar to; same as; (surname) Wakahama
If; as, like; the said; translit. j or jñ sounds.

SB

see styles
 esu bii; esubii(sk) / esu bi; esubi(sk)
    エス・ビー; エスビー(sk)
(1) (See ストアブランド) store brand; (2) (See 普通社債) straight bond; (3) (See ステーションブレーク) station break; (4) {sports} (See サイドバック) full-back (in soccer); (5) (See 社会的企業) social business

スジ

see styles
 suji
    スジ
(1) muscle; tendon; sinew; (2) vein; artery; (3) fiber; fibre; string; (4) line; stripe; streak; (5) reason; logic; (6) plot; storyline; (7) lineage; descent; (8) school (e.g. of scholarship or arts); (9) aptitude; talent; (10) source (of information, etc.); circle; channel; (11) well-informed person (in a transaction); (12) logical move (in go, shogi, etc.); (13) (shogi) ninth vertical line; (14) seam on a helmet; (15) (abbreviation) gristly fish paste (made of muscle, tendons, skin, etc.); (16) (archaism) social position; status; (n-suf,n,adj-no) (17) on (a river, road, etc.); along; (suf,ctr) (18) counter for long thin things; counter for roads or blocks when giving directions; (19) (archaism) (Edo period) counter for hundreds of mon (obsolete unit of currency); (given name) Suji

ため

see styles
 tame
    タメ
(colloquialism) the same (age, social status); peer; (given name) Tame

一族

see styles
yī zú
    yi1 zu2
i tsu
 ichizoku
    いちぞく
social group; subculture; family; clan; see also 族[zu2]
(1) family; relatives; dependents; (2) household

下嫁

see styles
xià jià
    xia4 jia4
hsia chia
(of a woman) to marry a man of lower social status; to marry down

下賜

see styles
 kashi
    かし
(noun, transitive verb) grant; bestowal; giving something to someone of low social standing (by a person of very high social standing)

不菲

see styles
bù fěi
    bu4 fei3
pu fei
considerable (cost etc); bountiful (crop etc); high (social status etc)

世相

see styles
shì xiàng
    shi4 xiang4
shih hsiang
 sesou / seso
    せそう
the ways of the world
social conditions; phase of life; (sign of) the times; state of society
World-state, or condition; appearances, phenomena.

事業


事业

see styles
shì yè
    shi4 ye4
shih yeh
 jigyou / jigyo
    じぎょう
undertaking; project; activity; (charitable, political or revolutionary) cause; publicly funded institution, enterprise or foundation; career; occupation; CL:個|个[ge4]
(1) business; enterprise; venture; (commercial) activity; (business) operation; industry; (2) (social) project; undertaking; enterprise; work; activity; program; service
action

交流

see styles
jiāo liú
    jiao1 liu2
chiao liu
 kouryuu / koryu
    こうりゅう
to exchange; exchange; communication; interaction; to have social contact (with sb)
(n,vs,vi) (1) exchange (e.g. cultural); interchange; interaction; mingling; mixing; coming together; (2) {elec} alternating current; AC

交詢

see styles
 koujun / kojun
    こうじゅん
promotion of social intercourse

交際


交际

see styles
jiāo jì
    jiao1 ji4
chiao chi
 kousai / kosai
    こうさい
communication; social intercourse
(n,vs,vi) (1) company; friendship; association; society; acquaintance; (n,vs,vi) (2) (romantic) involvement; dating

人夫

see styles
rén fū
    ren2 fu1
jen fu
 ninpu
    にんぷ
married man; husband (as a social role)
(sensitive word) laborer (labourer); construction worker; coolie

人妻

see styles
rén qī
    ren2 qi1
jen ch`i
    jen chi
 hitozuma
    ひとづま
married woman; wife (as a social role)
(1) married woman; (2) another's wife

人母

see styles
rén mǔ
    ren2 mu3
jen mu
 hitobo
    ひとぼ
mother (as a social role)
(place-name, surname) Hitobo

人父

see styles
rén fù
    ren2 fu4
jen fu
father (as a social role)

人狼

see styles
 jinrou / jinro
    じんろう
(1) (See 狼男) werewolf; (2) Werewolf (social deduction game); Mafia

低微

see styles
dī wēi
    di1 wei1
ti wei
meager (wages); humble (social status); feeble (voice)

低辺

see styles
 teihen / tehen
    ていへん
(irregular kanji usage) (noun - becomes adjective with の) (1) low class; low in social standing; low level; of poor reputation; (2) base (e.g. of support); foundation; basis

催し

see styles
 moyooshi
    もよおし
event; festivities; function; social gathering; auspices; opening; holding (a meeting)

公害

see styles
gōng hài
    gong1 hai4
kung hai
 kougai / kogai
    こうがい
environmental pollution; social scourge; blight on society
pollution; public nuisance; contamination

公式

see styles
gōng shì
    gong1 shi4
kung shih
 koushiki / koshiki
    こうしき
formula
(adj-no,n) (1) official; formal; (2) formula (e.g. mathematical); (3) official (social media) account (of a company, organization, etc.)

公徳

see styles
 koutoku / kotoku
    こうとく
public morality; social morals; civic virtues; (given name) Tadanori

公德

see styles
gōng dé
    gong1 de2
kung te
public ethics; social morality

共有

see styles
gòng yǒu
    gong4 you3
kung yu
 kyouyuu / kyoyu
    きょうゆう
to have altogether; in all
(noun, transitive verb) (1) joint ownership; co-ownership; sharing (e.g. a viewpoint); (noun, transitive verb) (2) sharing (files, devices on a network, posts on social media, etc.)
belonging or applicable to many or all

分房

see styles
fēn fáng
    fen1 fang2
fen fang
to sleep in separate rooms; distribution of social housing

分限

see styles
fēn xiàn
    fen1 xian4
fen hsien
 bugen; bungen
    ぶげん; ぶんげん
social standing; wealth
delimited

分際


分际

see styles
fēn jì
    fen1 ji4
fen chi
 bunzai
    ぶんざい
(oft. scornful) one's social standing; one's position; one's place; one's station in life
distinction

制服

see styles
zhì fú
    zhi4 fu2
chih fu
 seifuku / sefuku
    せいふく
to subdue; to check; to bring under control; (in former times) what one is allowed to wear depending on social status; uniform (army, party, school etc); livery (for company employees); CL:套[tao4]
uniform

刻奇

see styles
kè qí
    ke4 qi2
k`o ch`i
    ko chi
(loanword) kitsch, in a sense that originates in the writing of Milan Kundera: getting emotional about something due to the influence of social conditioning

動蕩


动荡

see styles
dòng dàng
    dong4 dang4
tung tang
unrest (social or political); turmoil; upheaval; commotion

卑賤


卑贱

see styles
bēi jiàn
    bei1 jian4
pei chien
 hizen
    ひせん
lowly; mean and low
(noun or adjectival noun) low class; lowly (position); humble (condition)
inferior (in social status)

厚生

see styles
 kousei / kose
    こうせい
(1) welfare; public welfare; social welfare; (2) (abbreviation) (See 厚生省) (former) Ministry of Health and Welfare; (g,p) Kōsei

叢生


丛生

see styles
cóng shēng
    cong2 sheng1
ts`ung sheng
    tsung sheng
 sousei / sose
    そうせい
growing as a thicket; overgrown; breaking out everywhere (of disease, social disorder etc)
(noun/participle) dense growth; healthy growth

各界

see styles
gè jiè
    ge4 jie4
ko chieh
 kakkai; kakukai
    かっかい; かくかい
all walks of life; all social circles
each field; various circles

同儕


同侪

see styles
tóng chái
    tong2 chai2
t`ung ch`ai
    tung chai
peer; member of the same class, generation or social group

同和

see styles
 douwa / dowa
    どうわ
(1) (abbreviation) (See 同胞融和) social integration (esp. of burakumin); assimilation; (2) (colloquialism) burakumin; (o) Dowa (company); Douwa

同妻

see styles
tóng qī
    tong2 qi1
t`ung ch`i
    tung chi
(neologism c. 2009) wife of a gay man (the man may marry to conform with social expectations, and the woman often enters the marriage not knowing he is gay)

同等

see styles
tóng děng
    tong2 deng3
t`ung teng
    tung teng
 doutou / doto
    どうとう
equal to; having the same social class or status
(adj-na,adj-no,n) equality; equal; same rights; same rank; equivalence

和子

see styles
 wakko
    わっこ
(n,pn) (archaism) son of a person of high social standing; (female given name) Wakko

噗浪

see styles
pū làng
    pu1 lang4
p`u lang
    pu lang
Plurk (Taiwanese social networking and microblogging service)

嚴復


严复

see styles
yán fù
    yan2 fu4
yen fu
Yan Fu (1853-1921), influential Chinese writer and translator of Western books, esp. on social sciences

四民

see styles
sì mín
    si4 min2
ssu min
 shimin
    しみん
"the four classes" of ancient China, i.e. scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants
(hist) the four social classes (of Edo-period Japan; samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants)
four classes of people

四維


四维

see styles
sì wéi
    si4 wei2
ssu wei
 shii; shiyui(ok) / shi; shiyui(ok)
    しい; しゆい(ok)
the four social bonds: propriety, justice, integrity and honor; see 禮義廉恥|礼义廉耻[li3 yi4 lian2 chi3]; the four directions; the four limbs (Chinese medicine); four-dimensional
(1) (See 四隅・2) four ordinal directions; (2) (しい only) (from Guanzi) four cardinal principles of the state (propriety, justice, integrity, sense of shame); (surname) Yotsui
The four half points of the compass, N. E., N. W., S. E., S. W.

圈子

see styles
quān zi
    quan1 zi5
ch`üan tzu
    chüan tzu
circle; ring; (social) circle

地位

see styles
dì wèi
    di4 wei4
ti wei
 chii / chi
    ちい
position; status; place; CL:個|个[ge4]
(1) (social) position; status; standing; (2) position (in a company, organization, etc.); post; rank
Position, place, state.

地官

see styles
 chikan
    ちかん
(hist) (See 六官) Ministry of Civil Administration and Social Welfare (Zhou dynasty China)

士人

see styles
shì rén
    shi4 ren2
shih jen
 shijin
    しじん
scholar
(1) samurai; (2) person of extensive learning; person of great culture; person of superior social standing
a person of extensive learning

士庶

see styles
 shisho
    ししょ
(1) samurai and commoners; (2) normal people (as opposed to people of a high social standing)

大事

see styles
dà shì
    da4 shi4
ta shih
 daiji
    だいじ
major event; major political event (war or change of regime); major social event (wedding or funeral); (do something) in a big way; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1]
(adjectival noun) (1) important; serious; crucial; (adjectival noun) (2) valuable; precious; (3) (See 大事・おおごと) serious matter; major incident; matter of grave concern; crisis; (4) great undertaking; great enterprise; great thing; (adjectival noun) (5) (Tochigi dialect) (See だいじょうぶ・1) safe; OK
(因緣) For the sake of a great cause, or because of a great matter―the Buddha appeared, i.e. for changing illusion into enlightenment. The Lotus interprets it as enlightenment; the Nirvana as the Buddha-nature; the 無量壽經 as the joy of Paradise.

大潮

see styles
dà cháo
    da4 chao2
ta ch`ao
    ta chao
 ooshio
    おおしお
spring tide; (fig.) momentous social change
(See 小潮) spring tide; (given name) Daichō

女史

see styles
 joshi
    じょし
(1) lady (of high social status; e.g. scholar, artist, critic, politician); (suffix noun) (2) (honorific or respectful language) Ms; Mrs; Miss

好友

see styles
hǎo yǒu
    hao3 you3
hao yu
 yoshitomo
    よしとも
close friend; pal; (social networking website) friend; CL:個|个[ge4]
(personal name) Yoshitomo

宗法

see styles
zōng fǎ
    zong1 fa3
tsung fa
 souhou / soho
    そうほう
patriarchal clan system
(hist) regulations governing Chinese religious observances and social order; (place-name) Souhou
宗體 The thesis of a syllogism consisting of two terms, each of which has five different names: 自性 subject; 差別 its differentiation; 有法 that which acts; 法 the action; 所別 that which is differentiated; 能別 that which differentiates; 前陳 first statement; 後陳 following statement; 宗依 that on which the syllogism depends, both for subject and predicate.

家柄

see styles
 iegara
    いえがら
(1) social standing of a family; lineage; parentage; pedigree; (2) good family

富農


富农

see styles
fù nóng
    fu4 nong2
fu nung
 funou / funo
    ふのう
rich peasant; social class of people farming their own land, intermediate between land-owner class 地主[di4 zhu3] and poor peasant 貧農|贫农[pin2 nong2]
rich farmer

尊卑

see styles
zūn bēi
    zun1 bei1
tsun pei
 sonpi
    そんぴ
superior and subordinate; social ranking
high and low; aristocrat and plebeian
noble and base

小人

see styles
xiǎo rén
    xiao3 ren2
hsiao jen
 shounin / shonin
    しょうにん
person of low social status (old); I, me (used to refer humbly to oneself); nasty person; vile character
(used when indicating admission fees, passenger fares, etc.) (See 中人・ちゅうにん,大人・だいにん) child (esp. one of elementary school age or younger); (place-name, surname) Kobito

崩壞


崩坏

see styles
bēng huài
    beng1 huai4
peng huai
crash; breakdown (of social values etc); burst; to crumble; to collapse

常識


常识

see styles
cháng shí
    chang2 shi2
ch`ang shih
    chang shih
 joushiki / joshiki
    じょうしき
common sense; general knowledge; CL:門|门[men2]
common sense; good sense; common knowledge; general knowledge; common practice; accepted practice; social etiquette

底辺

see styles
 teihen / tehen
    ていへん
(noun - becomes adjective with の) (1) (mathematics term) base (e.g. of a triangle); (2) low class; low in social standing; low level; of poor reputation; (3) base (e.g. of support); foundation; basis

微商

see styles
wēi shāng
    wei1 shang1
wei shang
derivative (math.); business on WeChat 微信[Wei1 xin4] leveraging one's social network; person who operates such a business

快手

see styles
kuài shǒu
    kuai4 shou3
k`uai shou
    kuai shou
 kuaishou / kuaisho
    クアイショウ
Kuaishou, Chinese social video sharing app
(work) Kuaishou (Chinese app); Kwai; (wk) Kuaishou (Chinese app); Kwai

應酬


应酬

see styles
yìng chou
    ying4 chou5
ying ch`ou
    ying chou
to engage in social activities; to socialize; dinner party; banquet; social engagement

成份

see styles
chéng fèn
    cheng2 fen4
ch`eng fen
    cheng fen
composition; make-up; ingredient; element; component; one's social status; same as 成分

成分

see styles
chéng fèn
    cheng2 fen4
ch`eng fen
    cheng fen
 seibun / sebun
    せいぶん
composition; ingredient; element; component; one's social status
ingredient; component; composition

成劫

see styles
chéng jié
    cheng2 jie2
ch`eng chieh
    cheng chieh
 joukou; jougou / joko; jogo
    じょうこう; じょうごう
{Buddh} (See 四劫) the kalpa of formation (the first aeon of the universe)
vivarta kalpa, one of the four kalpas, consisting of twenty small kalpas during which worlds and the beings on them are formed. The others are: 住劫 vivarta-siddha kalpa, kalpa of abiding, or existence, sun and moon rise, sexes are differentiated, heroes arise, four castes are formed, social life evolves. 壞劫saṃvarta kalpa, that of destruction, consisting of sixty-four small kalpas when fire, water, and wind destroy everything except the fourth dhyāna. 空劫 saṃvarta-siddha kalpa, i.e. of annihilation. v. 劫波.

打卡

see styles
dǎ kǎ
    da3 ka3
ta k`a
    ta ka
(of an employee) to clock on (or off); to punch in (or out); (on social media) to check in to a location

投稿

see styles
tóu gǎo
    tou2 gao3
t`ou kao
    tou kao
 toukou / toko
    とうこう
to submit articles for publication; to contribute (writing)
(n,vs,vt,vi) contribution (to a newspaper, magazine, etc.); submission; post (on a blog, social media, etc.)

按讚


按赞

see styles
àn zàn
    an4 zan4
an tsan
to give sb a thumbs-up (on social media)

掘客

see styles
jué kè
    jue2 ke4
chüeh k`o
    chüeh ko
Digg (social news website)

擴列


扩列

see styles
kuò liè
    kuo4 lie4
k`uo lieh
    kuo lieh
(Internet slang) to add a friend (on a social network etc)

攀附

see styles
pān fù
    pan1 fu4
p`an fu
    pan fu
to climb (of climbing plants); to creep; to cling on to; fig. to seek connection (with the rich and powerful); social climbing

放閃


放闪

see styles
fàng shǎn
    fang4 shan3
fang shan
(coll.) (of a couple) to display affection in public or by posting photos on social media

文理

see styles
wén lǐ
    wen2 li3
wen li
 bunri
    ぶんり
arts and sciences
(1) humanities and sciences; social sciences and hard sciences; (2) context; (3) (line of) reasoning; (surname) Bunri
The written word and the truth expressed; written principles, or reasonings; a treatise; literary style.

文科

see styles
wén kē
    wen2 ke1
wen k`o
    wen ko
 bunka
    ぶんか
liberal arts; humanities
(1) humanities; liberal arts; social science; (2) literary course; department of literature

文系

see styles
 bunkei / bunke
    ぶんけい
(noun - becomes adjective with の) (See 理系) humanities, social sciences, and fine arts; liberal arts

族称

see styles
 zokushou / zokusho
    ぞくしょう
(hist) (See 華族,士族・2,平民・2) hereditary social class (under system in use 1869-1947)

曬娃


晒娃

see styles
shài wá
    shai4 wa2
shai wa
(coll.) to excessively share pics etc of one's child on social media; sharenting

格式

see styles
gé shì
    ge2 shi4
ko shih
 kakushiki; kyakushiki
    かくしき; きゃくしき
form; specification; format
(1) formality; social rules; (2) social status; social standing; (3) (archaism) (usu. きゃくしき) (See 律令) amendments and enforcement regulations (of the ritsuryō)

模合

see styles
 moai
    もあい
moai; Okinawan-style social support group

武林

see styles
wǔ lín
    wu3 lin2
wu lin
 takebayashi
    たけばやし
martial arts (social) circles
(surname) Takebayashi
Wulin

民度

see styles
 mindo
    みんど
(1) cultural standard (of a people); moral standard; cultural level; social manners; (2) standard of living

法家

see styles
fǎ jiā
    fa3 jia1
fa chia
 houka / hoka
    ほうか
the Legalist school of political philosophy, which rose to prominence in the Warring States period (475-221 BC) (The Legalists believed that social harmony could only be attained through strong state control, and advocated for a system of rigidly applied punishments and rewards for specific behaviors.); a Legalist
(1) lawyer; (2) legalism (school of Chinese philosophy)
Buddhism; cf. 法門.

洋相

see styles
yáng xiàng
    yang2 xiang4
yang hsiang
social gaffe or blunder; faux pas; see 出洋相[chu1 yang2 xiang4]

Entries with 2nd row of characters: The 2nd row is Simplified Chinese.

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This page contains 100 results for "social" in Chinese and/or Japanese.



Information about this dictionary:

Apparently, we were the first ones who were crazy enough to think that western people might want a combined Chinese, Japanese, and Buddhist dictionary.

A lot of westerners can't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese - and there is a reason for that. Chinese characters and even whole words were borrowed by Japan from the Chinese language in the 5th century. Much of the time, if a word or character is used in both languages, it will have the same or a similar meaning. However, this is not always true. Language evolves, and meanings independently change in each language.

Example: The Chinese character 湯 for soup (hot water) has come to mean bath (hot water) in Japanese. They have the same root meaning of "hot water", but a 湯屋 sign on a bathhouse in Japan would lead a Chinese person to think it was a "soup house" or a place to get a bowl of soup. See this: Japanese Bath House

This dictionary uses the EDICT and CC-CEDICT dictionary files.
EDICT data is the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, and is used in conformance with the Group's license.

Chinese Buddhist terms come from Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms by William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous. This is commonly referred to as "Soothill's'". It was first published in 1937 (and is now off copyright so we can use it here). Some of these definitions may be misleading, incomplete, or dated, but 95% of it is good information. Every professor who teaches Buddhism or Eastern Religion has a copy of this on their bookshelf. We incorporated these 16,850 entries into our dictionary database ourselves (it was lot of work).



Combined, these cover 1,007,753 Japanese, Chinese, and Buddhist characters, words, idioms, names, placenames, and short phrases.

Just because a word appears here does not mean it is appropriate for a tattoo, your business name, etc. Please consult a professional before doing anything stupid with this data.

We do offer Chinese and Japanese Tattoo Services. We'll also be happy to help you translate something for other purposes.

No warranty as to the correctness, potential vulgarity, or clarity is expressed or implied. We did not write any of these definitions (though we occasionally act as a contributor/editor to the CC-CEDICT project). You are using this dictionary for free, and you get what you pay for.

The following titles are just to help people who are searching for an Asian dictionary to find this page.

Japanese Kanji Dictionary

Free Asian Dictionary

Chinese Kanji Dictionary

Chinese Words Dictionary

Chinese Language Dictionary

Japanese Chinese Dictionary