bonzo

See also: bonzō

English

Noun

bonzo (plural bonzos)

1. Alternative form of bonze (“Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia”).

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bonzo.

Noun

bonzo m (plural bonzi)

1. bonze (Buddhist monk)

Portuguese

Etymology

From Japanese 凡僧 (bonzō), from Middle Chinese 凡 (bjom "ordinary") + 僧 (song "Buddhist monk").

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbõ.zu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbõ.zu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbõ.zo/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbõ.zu/

• Hyphenation: bon‧zo

Noun

bonzo m (plural bonzos)

1. bonze (Buddhist monk)

   Synonym: saí

Further reading

• “bonzo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “bonzo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbonθo/ [ˈbõn̟.θo] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbonso/ [ˈbõn.so] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -onθo (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• Rhymes: -onso (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: bon‧zo

Noun

bonzo m (plural bonzos)

1. bonze (Buddhist monk)

Derived terms

• a lo bonzo

Further reading

• “bonzo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025