和尚

• Pinyin: hé shang
• Hanzi breakdown: 和 = 禾 + 口 (harmony/gentleness); 尚 = 小 + 冂 + 口 (esteem; venerate)

Meaning

Buddhist monk. A man who has taken monastic vows and lives according to Buddhist precepts, residing in a temple or monastery.

Refers specifically to ordained male Buddhist monks in the Chinese tradition. Associated with a life of discipline, meditation, vegetarianism, and service. The phrase 和尚念经 (a monk reciting sutras) is used figuratively to describe someone repeating something endlessly. Appears in many idioms and folk sayings reflecting Buddhism's deep cultural presence in China.

Examples

1. 寺庙里的老和尚每天凌晨三点起床打坐诵经，数十年如一日，从未间断。 The elderly monk in the temple gets up at three every morning to meditate and chant sutras—day after day for decades, without interruption.
2. 这位和尚以精湛的医术救助无数贫苦百姓，被当地人奉为活菩萨。 That monk used his superb medical skills to help countless poor people and was revered by locals as a living bodhisattva.
3. 小说中那个云游四方的和尚走遍千山万水，只为寻找失散多年的师父。 In the novel, the monk who wandered far and wide crossed countless mountains and rivers, all to find the teacher he’d been separated from for many years.

Usage Guide

Context: religion, Buddhism, culture, literature

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他出家为僧已有二十载，如今是这座古刹德高望重的老和尚。(He has been a monk for twenty years and is now the highly respected senior monk of this ancient temple.)
• 庙里的和尚每逢初一十五便会向信众开放讲经堂，免费讲解佛法要义。(The monks at the temple open the sutra hall to believers on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, freely explaining the essentials of Buddhist teachings.)

Don't Say

• 和尚 for Daoist or other religious practitioners — use 道士 for Daoist priests; 和尚 refers exclusively to Buddhist monks

Origin & History

和 (harmonious/gentle; Sanskrit 'upadhyaya' transliteration component) + 尚 (esteemed; venerable)

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional to present

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal