坊 means “boy, little one, monk”

ぼう · bou

Also: priest's residence, priest

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ボウ, ボッ

JLPT N3 · Taught in secondary school · 7 strokes

The story

Picture earth (土) marked out square (方): a plot of temple ground with a monk's lodging on it. お坊さん is a Buddhist monk, and 坊 makes affectionate little people too: 赤ん坊 a baby, 寝坊 a sleepyhead, and 食いしん坊 someone who lives to eat.

Used in 赤ん坊 (akanbou, baby), 寝坊 (nebou, oversleeping), and お坊さん (obousan, Buddhist monk)

More from People Around You

• 達 plural (people)
• 他 other
• 客 guest
• 師 teacher
• 彼 he
• 婦 woman
• 徒 pupil
• 君 you
• 娘 daughter
• 皆 everyone

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.