小僧

Chinese

		small; tiny; few small; tiny; few; young	monk
simp. and trad. (小僧)		小	僧

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xiǎosēng

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄙㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): siu² zang¹ / siu² sang¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎosēng
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄙㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: siǎoseng
  - Wade–Giles: hsiao³-sêng¹
  - Yale: syǎu-sēng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheauseng
  - Palladius: сяосэн (sjaosɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ sɤŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: siu² zang¹ / siu² sang¹
  - Yale: síu jāng / síu sāng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: siu² dzang¹ / siu² sang¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: xiu² zeng¹ / xiu² seng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯³⁵ t͡sɐŋ⁵⁵/, /siːu̯³⁵ sɐŋ⁵⁵/
  - Homophones:
    ^edit
    ^edit
    小僧
    小生

Noun

小僧

(Buddhism) young/novice Buddhist monk

Pronoun

小僧

(Buddhism, by a monk, humble) I

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (小僧):

→ Japanese: 小(こ)僧(ぞう) (kozō)
→ Korean: 소승(小僧) (soseung)

Further reading

Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “小僧” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

Japanese

Kanji in this term
小	僧
こ Grade: 1	そう > ぞう Grade: S
yutōyomi

Alternative spelling
小僧 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From 小 (ko, "small," "little") + 僧 (sō, "bonze," "Buddhist monk").

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) こぞー [kòzóꜜò] (Nakadaka – [2])^[1]
IPA^(key): [ko̞zo̞ː]

Noun

小(こ)僧(ぞう) • (kozō)

(Buddhism) young/novice Buddhist monk
(now obsolete) servant boy in a shop
- 1914, 夏目漱石 [Natsume Sōseki], chapter 36, in こゝろ [Kokoro], 上先生と私 [Sensei and I]:
  小僧(こぞう)にいうと、いくらでも出(だ)してはくれるが、さてどれを選(えら)んでいいのか、買(か)う段(だん)になっては、ただ迷(まよ)うだけであった。
  Kozō ni iu to, ikura demo dashite wa kureru ga, sate dore o erande ii no ka, kau dan ni natte wa, tada mayou dake de atta.
  The shop boy would keep bringing them out as I asked, but when it came to choosing one to buy, I was simply lost.
(derogatory) kid, brat, youngster

Synonyms

(youngster): 坊主(ぼうず) (bōzu)

Derived terms

Derived terms

カメラ小僧(こぞう) (kamerakozō): amateur photographer
一(ひと)つ目小僧(めこぞう) (hitotsumekozō): one-eyed goblin
小便小僧(しょうべんこぞう) (shōbenkozō): cupid statues
悪戯小僧(いたずらこぞう) (itazurakozō): mischievous boy
洟垂(はなた)れ小僧(こぞう) (hanatarekozō): snot-nosed kid
膝小僧(ひざこぞう) (hizakozō): knee
腕白小僧(わんばくこぞう) (wanbakukozō): naughty boy

Idioms

門前(もんぜん)の小僧習(こぞうなら)わぬ経(きょう)を読(よ)む (monzen no kozō narawanu kyō o yomu): a saint's maid quotes Latin

References

^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN