Meanings
noundaruma (plural darumas)
plural darumas
- A hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism.
Like a daruma doll, you knock it over and it rights itself.
1988 February 19, Janice Perrone, “A Gloom of Their Own”, in Chicago Reader1 more example
This combination of piety and fun also accounts for the continued popularity of roly-poly darumas, popular doll-like figures named after Bodhidharma.
2012, Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, Suzanne Gay, A Brief History of Japanese Civilization, page 255Synonyms: Dharma doll
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism.
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Also see
Origin
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 達摩 /达摩
- 達摩 /达摩 (dámó)Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma
Japanese 達磨, だるま
- 達磨 (daruma)Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma
- だるま (daruma)Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma
Korean 다루마, 달마
- 다루마 (daruma)Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma
- 달마 (dalma)Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
daruma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daruma
MLA
“daruma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daruma. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “daruma,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daruma.
Source: daruma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.