bonze

B3O1N1Z10E1
/ˈbɒnz//ˈbɒnzi/

noun

A Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia.

OriginFrench bonze ← Portuguese bonzo ← Japanese 凡僧 →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounbonze (plural bonzes)

plural bonzes · alternative bonzee · alternative bonzo

  1. A Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
bhikkhu

Origin

  1. Japanese凡僧
  2. Portuguesebonzo
  3. Frenchbonze
  4. Englishbonze

From French bonze, from Portuguese bonzo, from Japanese 凡僧 (bonzō), from Middle Chinese 凡 (bjom, “ordinary”) + 僧 (song, “Buddhist monk”).

More words from French, Portuguese, Japanese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 和尚, 僧
  • 和尚 (héshàng)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 僧 (sēng)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 僧人 (sēngrén)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Dutch bonze
  • bonzeBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Finnish bonze
  • bonzeBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
French bonze
  • bonzeBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
German Bonze
  • BonzeBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Hungarian bonc
  • boncBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Italian bonzo, monaco buddista
  • bonzoBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • monaco buddistaBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Japanese 坊主, 和尚
  • 坊主 (bōzu)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 和尚 (oshō)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 僧侶 (sōryo)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 凡僧 (bonzō)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Korean 승려, 중
  • 승려 (seungnyeo)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 중 (jung)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
  • 범승 (beomseung)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Polish bonza
  • bonzaBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Portuguese bonzo
  • bonzoBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Romanian bonz
  • bonzBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Russian бо́нза
  • бо́нза (bónza)Buddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Spanish bonzo
  • bonzoBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia
Vietnamese nhà sư
  • nhà sưBuddhist monk or priest in East Asia

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

benzo
Cite this entry
APA

bonze. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonze

MLA

“bonze.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonze. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bonze,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonze.

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