弘法

Chinese

		great; liberal	law; method; way law; method; way; Buddhist teaching; Legalist; France (abbrev.)
simp. and trad. (弘法)		弘	法
alternative forms		宏法

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hóngfǎ

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄈㄚˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): wang⁴ faat³
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hông-hoat

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hóngfǎ
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄈㄚˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hóngfǎ
    • Wade–Giles: hung²-fa³
    • Yale: húng-fǎ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: horngfaa
    • Palladius: хунфа (xunfa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xʊŋ³⁵ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: wang⁴ faat³
    • Yale: wàhng faat
    • Cantonese Pinyin: wang⁴ faat⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: weng⁴ fad³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɐŋ²¹ faːt̚³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hông-hoat
    • Tâi-lô: hông-huat
    • Phofsit Daibuun: honghoad
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /hɔŋ²⁴⁻²² huat̚³²/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /hɔŋ²⁴⁻²² huat̚⁵/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /hɔŋ¹³⁻²² huat̚³²/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /hɔŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ huat̚³²/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /hɔŋ²³⁻³³ huat̚³²/

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• Middle Chinese: hwong pjop

Rime
Character	弘	法
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	登 (130)	乏 (148)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Closed
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	胡肱切	方乏切
Baxter	hwong	pjop
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦwəŋ/	/pɨɐp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦʷəŋ/	/piɐp̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣuəŋ/	/piɐp̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦwəŋ/	/puap̚/
Li Rong	/ɣuəŋ/	/piɐp̚/
Wang Li	/ɣuəŋ/	/pĭwɐp̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣwəŋ/	/pi̯wɐp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hóng	fa
Expected Cantonese Reflex	wang4	faat3

Verb

弘法

1. (Buddhism) to propagate Buddhist teachings

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (弘法):

• → Japanese: 弘(ぐ)法(ほう) (guhō)
• → Korean: 홍법(弘法) (hongbeop)

Further reading

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “弘法” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
弘	法
ぐ Jinmeiyō	ほう Grade: 4
goon

/ɡupopu/ → /ɡuɸoɸu/ → /ɡuhoː/

From Middle Chinese 弘法 (MC hwong pjop). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぐほー [gùhóó] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) ぐほー [gúꜜhòò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡɯ̟ho̞ː]

Noun

弘(ぐ)法(ほう) • (guhō) ^{←ぐほふ (gufofu)?}

1. (Buddhism) the propagation of Buddhist teachings

   Synonym: 弘布 (gubu)

Derived terms

• 弘法寺(ぐほうじ) (Guhō-ji)
• 弘法(こうぼう)大(だい)師(し) (Kōbō Daishi)

Verb

弘(ぐ)法(ほう)する • (guhō suru) ^{←ぐほふ (gufofu)?}suru (stem 弘(ぐ)法(ほう)し (guhō shi), past 弘(ぐ)法(ほう)した (guhō shita))

1. (Buddhism) to propagate Buddhist teachings

Conjugation

Conjugation of "弘法する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	弘法し	ぐほうし	guhō shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	弘法し	ぐほうし	guhō shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	弘法する	ぐほうする	guhō suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	弘法する	ぐほうする	guhō suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	弘法すれ	ぐほうすれ	guhō sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	弘法せよ¹ 弘法しろ²	ぐほうせよ¹ ぐほうしろ²	guhō seyo¹ guhō shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	弘法される	ぐほうされる	guhō sareru
Causative	弘法させる 弘法さす	ぐほうさせる ぐほうさす	guhō saseru guhō sasu
Potential	弘法できる	ぐほうできる	guhō dekiru
Volitional	弘法しよう	ぐほうしよう	guhō shiyō
Negative	弘法しない	ぐほうしない	guhō shinai
Negative continuative	弘法せず	ぐほうせず	guhō sezu
Formal	弘法します	ぐほうします	guhō shimasu
Perfective	弘法した	ぐほうした	guhō shita
Conjunctive	弘法して	ぐほうして	guhō shite
Hypothetical conditional	弘法すれば	ぐほうすれば	guhō sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
弘	法
こう Jinmeiyō	ほう > ぼう Grade: 4
kan'on	goon

The euphemistic sense comes from the belief that Kōbō Daishi was a homosexual.

Proper noun

弘(こう)法(ぼう) • (Kōbō) ^{←こうぼふ (Koubofu)?}

1. short for 弘法大師 (Kōbō Daishi): the posthumous name of 空海 (Kūkai), founder of the esoteric Shingon sect of Buddhism
2. a surname

Derived terms

• 弘法(こうぼう)穴(あな) (Kōbō ana)
• 弘法寺(こうぼうじ) (Kōbō-ji)
• 弘法(コウボウ)柴(シバ) (kōbōshiba)
• 弘法(コウボウ)芝(シバ) (kōbōshiba)
• 弘法(こうぼう)清水(しみず) (kōbō shimizu)
• 弘法茶(こうぼうちゃ) (kōbōcha)
• 弘法(こうぼう)稗(びえ) (kōbōbie)
• 弘法(こうぼう)水(みず) (Kōbō mizu)
• 弘(コウ)法(ボウ)麦(ムギ) (kōbōmugi)
• 朝(あさ)鉢(ばち)は弘法(こうぼう)様(さま) (asabachi wa Kōbō-sama)
• 終(しま)い弘法(こうぼう) (Shimai Kōbō)
• 初(はつ)弘法(こうぼう) (Hatsu Kōbō)

Proverbs

• 弘法(こうぼう)にも筆(ふで)の誤(あやま)り (Kōbō ni mo fude no ayamari)
• 弘法(こうぼう)筆(ふで)を択(えら)ばず (Kōbō fude o erabazu)

Noun

弘(こう)法(ぼう) • (kōbō) ^{←こうぼふ (koubofu)?}

1. (euphemistic) male homosexuality

References

• “^▲弘法”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026