Meanings
nountulku (plural tulkus)
plural tulkus
- TibetanBuddhismA high-ranking lama who can choose the manner of his or her rebirth.
The abbot is considered a tulku by Tibetans and called a living Buddha in Chinese — an especially revered figure who is believed to be the essence of a prominent religious leader.
2009 April 25, Edward Wong, “Senior Tibetan Cleric Faces Prison in China”, in New York TimesSynonyms: hutukhtu
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA high-ranking lama who can choose the manner of his or her rebirth.
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Also see
Origin
- Tibetanསྤྲུལ་སྐུ“tulku”
- Englishtulku
Borrowed from Tibetan སྤྲུལ་སྐུ (sprul sku, “tulku”).
More words from Tibetan
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 祖古, 活佛
- 祖古type of Buddhist lama
- 活佛 (huófó)type of Buddhist lama
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
tulku. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tulku
MLA
“tulku.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tulku. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tulku,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tulku.
Source: tulku on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.