Hotei

H4O1T1E1I1

proper noun

The Chinese god Budai, the fat and happy god of abundance and good health, and one of the seven gods of luck.

OriginJapanese 布袋 →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. JapaneseShintoThe Chinese god Budai, the fat and happy god of abundance and good health, and one of the seven gods of luck.

Origin

  1. Japanese布袋
  2. EnglishHotei

From Japanese 布袋 (Hotei), from Middle Chinese 布袋 (MC puH dojH, “cloth sack”) (compare Mandarin 布袋 (Bùdài), Vietnamese Bố Đại), by metonymy "Man with the cloth sack", the "Laughing Buddha" figure associated with the Maitreya Buddha.

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Hotei. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hotei

MLA

“Hotei.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hotei. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hotei,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hotei.

Source: Hotei on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.