Meanings
- BuddhismA Japanese festival to honor the spirits of one's ancestors.
It was coming up to Obon, and spirits were cruising about like travelers arriving at the airport with their suitcases, looking for a place to check in. Obon was their summer vacation, too, when they could come back from the land of the dead to visit us here, in the land of the so-called living.
2013, Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, Canongate Books (2019), page 222Synonyms: Bon, Bon Festival
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA Japanese festival to honor the spirits of one's ancestors.
Origin
- Japaneseお盆
- EnglishObon
From Japanese お盆 (おぼん, Obon).
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بُون, بُون
- بُون (būn)a Japanese festival
- بُون (bon)a Japanese festival
Chinese Mandarin 盂蘭盆 /盂兰盆, 盂蘭盆會 /盂兰盆会
- 盂蘭盆 /盂兰盆 (Yúlánpén)a Japanese festival
- 盂蘭盆會 /盂兰盆会 (Yúlánpénhuì)a Japanese festival
- 日本盆會 /日本盆会 (Rìběn pénhuì)a Japanese festival
Japanese お盆, 盂蘭盆
- お盆 (Obon)a Japanese festival
- 盂蘭盆 (Urabon)a Japanese festival
- 盂蘭盆會 (Urabon'e)a Japanese festival
Korean 오본
- 오본 (Obon)a Japanese festival
Malay Obon
- Obona Japanese festival
Russian Обо́н
- Обо́н (Obón)a Japanese festival
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Obon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Obon
“Obon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Obon. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Obon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Obon.
Source: Obon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.