五大 in Chinese / Japanese...

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Godai / Five Elements

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wǔ dà

godai

五大 is the Japanese title for the five elements.

In Japan, the five elements differ slightly from the original Chinese. Therefore, in Japanese philosophy, you have earth, water, fire, wind, and void (space).

The meaning of the first character is 5, but the second character means great or large. Some translate this as the five majors. 大 is only understood as “elements” when you have 五 in front of it.

In Buddhism, this can be short for 五大明王, or the five great and wise kings.

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Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 五大 search...

Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese	Pronunciation Romanization	Simple Dictionary Definition
五大 see styles	wǔ dà wu3 da4 wu ta godai ごだい	More info & calligraphy: Godai / Five Elements (1) {Buddh} (See 五行・ごぎょう・1) the five elements (in Japanese philosophy: earth, water, fire, wind and void); (2) (abbreviation) {Buddh} (See 五大明王) five great wisdom kings; (surname) Godai The five elements— earth, water, fire, wind, and space. v. also 五行 the five agents. In the esoteric cult the five are the physical manifestation, or garbhadhātu, v. 胎; as being in all phenomena they are called 五輪 the five evolvers; their phonetic embryos 種子 are those of the Five Dhyani-Buddhas of the five directions, v. 五佛.
五大国 see styles	godaikoku ごだいこく	五大国 Custom Scroll the Five Powers
五大坊 see styles	godaibou / godaibo ごだいぼう	五大坊 Custom Scroll (surname) Godaibou
五大堂 see styles	godaidou / godaido ごだいどう	五大堂 Custom Scroll (place-name) Godaidou
五大尊 see styles	wǔ dà zūn wu3 da4 zun1 wu ta tsun go daison	五大尊 Custom Scroll idem 五大明王.
五大山 see styles	godaisan ごだいさん	五大山 Custom Scroll (place-name) Godaisan
五大州 see styles	godaishuu / godaishu ごだいしゅう	五大州 Custom Scroll the Five Continents
五大形 see styles	wǔ dà xíng wu3 da4 xing2 wu ta hsing godai gyō	五大形 Custom Scroll The symbols of the five elements— earth as square, water round, fire triangular, wind half-moon, and space a combination of the other four.
五大施 see styles	wǔ dà shī wu3 da4 shi1 wu ta shih go daise	五大施 Custom Scroll The five great gifts, i. e. ability to keep the five commandments.
五大洋 see styles	gotaiyou; godaiyou(ik) / gotaiyo; godaiyo(ik) ごたいよう; ごだいよう(ik)	五大洋 Custom Scroll the five oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic)
五大洲 see styles	wǔ dà zhōu wu3 da4 zhou1 wu ta chou godaishuu / godaishu ごだいしゅう	五大洲 Custom Scroll five continents; the whole world the Five Continents
五大湖 see styles	wǔ dà hú wu3 da4 hu2 wu ta hu godaiko ごだいこ	五大湖 Custom Scroll Great Lakes; the five north American Great Lakes (place-name) the Great Lakes (of North America)
五大老 see styles	gotairou / gotairo ごたいろう	五大老 Custom Scroll (hist) (See 五奉行) Council of Five Elders; committee of daimyo formed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to rule Japan until his son Hideyori came of age
五大色 see styles	wǔ dà sè wu3 da4 se4 wu ta se go daishiki	五大色 Custom Scroll The five chief colours— yellow for earth, white for water, red for fire, black for wind, azure for space (or the sky). Some say white for wind and black for water.
五大觀五大观 see styles	wǔ dà guān wu3 da4 guan1 wu ta kuan godai kan	五大觀 Custom Scroll The meditation on the five elements 五大.
五大院 see styles	wǔ dà yuàn wu3 da4 yuan4 wu ta yüan godaiin / godain ごだいいん	五大院 Custom Scroll (surname) Godaiin The fifth of the thirteen great courts of the Garbhadhātu-maṇḍala, named 持明院, the court of the five Dharmapālas 五大明王.
五大陸 see styles	gotairiku ごたいりく	五大陸 Custom Scroll the five continents; Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Australia; Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America
第五大 see styles	dì wǔ dà di4 wu3 da4 ti wu ta daigo dai	第五大 Custom Scroll A fifth element, the nonexistent.
五大三粗 see styles	wǔ dà sān cū wu3 da4 san1 cu1 wu ta san ts`u wu ta san tsu	五大三粗 Custom Scroll burly; strapping; big and strong
五大使者 see styles	wǔ dà shǐ zhě wu3 da4 shi3 zhe3 wu ta shih che go dai shisha	五大使者 Custom Scroll 五天使者 The five dūta, i. e. great lictors, or deva-messengers— birth, old age, disease, death, earthly laws and punishments— said to be sent by Māra as warnings.
五大力堂 see styles	godairikidou / godairikido ごだいりきどう	五大力堂 Custom Scroll (place-name) Godairikidou
五大力尊 see styles	wǔ dà lì zūn wu3 da4 li4 zun1 wu ta li tsun go dairiki son	五大力尊 Custom Scroll five bodhisattvas of great power
五大名山 see styles	wǔ dà míng shān wu3 da4 ming2 shan1 wu ta ming shan	五大名山 Custom Scroll Five Sacred Mountains of the Daoists, namely: Mt Tai 泰山[Tai4 Shan1] in Shandong, Mt Hua 華山\|华山[Hua4 Shan1] in Shaanxi, Mt Heng 衡山[Heng2 Shan1] in Hunan, Mt Heng 恆山\|恒山[Heng2 Shan1] in Shanxi, Mt Song 嵩山[Song1 Shan1] in Henan
五大明王 see styles	wǔ dà míng wáng wu3 da4 ming2 wang2 wu ta ming wang godaimyouou / godaimyoo ごだいみょうおう	五大明王 Custom Scroll {Buddh} five great wisdom kings (Acala, Kundali, Trilokavijaya, Vajrayaksa, Yamantaka) The five Dharmapālas, or Law-guardians of the Five Dhyāni-Buddhas, of whom they are emanations or embodiments in two forms, compassionate and minatory. The five kings are the fierce aspect, e. g. Yamantaka, or the 六足尊金剛 Six-legged Honoured One is an emanation of Mañjuśrī, who is an emanation of Amitābha. The five kings are 不動, 降三世, 軍荼梨, 六足尊, and 淨身, all vajra-kings.
五大月輪五大月轮 see styles	wǔ dà yuè lún wu3 da4 yue4 lun2 wu ta yüeh lun go daigetsu rin	五大月輪 Custom Scroll five great moon wheels
五大路子 see styles	godaimichiko ごだいみちこ	五大路子 Custom Scroll (person) Godai Michiko (1952.9-)
五大連池五大连池 see styles	wǔ dà lián chí wu3 da4 lian2 chi2 wu ta lien ch`ih wu ta lien chih	五大連池 Custom Scroll Wudalianchi, county-level city in Heihe 黑河[Hei1 he2], Heilongjiang
五大龍王五大龙王 see styles	wǔ dà lóng wáng wu3 da4 long2 wang2 wu ta lung wang go dai ryūō	五大龍王 Custom Scroll 五類龍王 The five great dragon-kings of India.
五大力菩薩五大力菩萨 see styles	wǔ dà lì pú sà wu3 da4 li4 pu2 sa4 wu ta li p`u sa wu ta li pu sa go dairiki bosatsu	五大力菩薩 Custom Scroll The five powerful Bodhisattvas, guardians of the four quarters and the centre.
五大連池市五大连池市 see styles	wǔ dà lián chí shì wu3 da4 lian2 chi2 shi4 wu ta lien ch`ih shih wu ta lien chih shih	五大連池市 Custom Scroll Wudalianchi, county-level city in Heihe 黑河[Hei1 he2], Heilongjiang

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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title	Characters	Romaji (Romanized Japanese)	Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Godai Five Elements	五大	godai	wǔ dà / wu3 da4 / wu da / wuda	wu ta / wuta