僕

See also: 仆

僕 U+50D5, 僕 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-50D5 ← 僔 [U+50D4] CJK Unified Ideographs 僖 → [U+50D6]

Translingual

Japanese	僕
Simplified	仆
Traditional	僕

Stroke order

Han character

僕 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+12, 14 strokes, cangjie input 人廿金人 (OTCO), four-corner 2223₄, composition ⿰亻菐)

Derived terms

• 㙸, 濮, 纀, 襥

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 116, character 18
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1094
• Dae Jaweon: page 247, character 30
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 218, character 9
• Unihan data for U+50D5

Chinese

trad.		僕
simp.		仆*
alternative forms		㒒 䑑 仆 𢖃

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 僕
Oracle bone script j05000 Bronze inscriptions b03327 b03328 b03329 b03330 b03331 b03332 b03333 b03334 b03335 b03336 b03337 Small seal script s01961 s01962 Transcribed ancient scripts L37363 L37364 L37365 L37366 L37367 L37368 L37369 L37370 L25033 L25034 L25035 L25036 L25037 L25038 L25039 L25040 L25041 L25042
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (菐) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
樸	*baː, *pʰroːɡ, *poːɡ, *boːɡ
璞	*pʰroːɡ
墣	*pʰroːɡ, *pʰoːɡ
撲	*broːɡ, *pʰoːɡ
轐	*poːɡ, *buːɡ
獛	*poːɡ
蹼	*poːɡ
襆	*poːɡ, *boɡ
濮	*poːɡ
纀	*poːɡ
醭	*pʰoːɡ
僕	*boːɡ, *buːɡ
菐	*boːɡ, *puɡ
穙	*boːɡ
鏷	*buːɡ
幞	*boɡ

In the oracle bone script and the early Western Zhou bronze script, it was a pictogram (象形) of a slave or prisoner, with hands holding a basket (其) to pick up garbage, an instrument of punishment (辛) above the head, and a tail (尾) to represent the slave's low status, akin to animals.

其 later corrupts into 甾, the hands (廾) move below 辛, and the slave's body (人) moves to become the left component. Later, 辛 corrupts into 丵 (probably by fusing with 甾) and combines with 廾 to give 菐 (OC *boːɡ, *puɡ), which functions as a phonetic component.

In the current form, it is essentially a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *boːɡ, *buːɡ) : semantic 人 (“man”) + phonetic 菐 (OC *boːɡ, *puɡ).

Etymology

Probably related to Tibetan བུ (bu, “son; boy”) (Coblin, 1986).

Alternatively, Peiros and Starostin (1996) compare it to Tibetan ཕྲུག (phrug, “child”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): pú (pu²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄨˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): pu²

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): buk⁶

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): buuk⁵

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): phuk / phu̍k / phù

  (Meixian, Guangdong): pug⁶

• Jin (Wiktionary): pah⁵ / peh⁵
• Northern Min (KCR): pŭ
• Eastern Min (BUC): bŭk
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): borh⁷
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): po̍k

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bog⁸

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁸boq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): pu⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: pú
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄨˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: pú
    • Wade–Giles: pʻu²
    • Yale: pú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: pwu
    • Palladius: пу (pu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰu³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: pu²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: pu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰu²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: buk⁶
    • Yale: buhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: buk⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bug⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʊk̚²/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: buuk⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɵk̚³²/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phuk / phu̍k
    • Hakka Romanization System: pug^ˋ / pug
    • Hagfa Pinyim: pug⁵ / pug⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /pʰuk̚²/, /pʰuk̚⁵/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phù
    • Hakka Romanization System: pu^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: pu²
    • Sinological IPA: /pʰu¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: pug⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /pʰʊk̚⁵/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: pah⁵ / peh⁵
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /pʰaʔ⁵⁴/, /pʰəʔ⁵⁴/

Note:

• pah5 - colloquial;
• peh5 - literary.

• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: pŭ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰu²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: bŭk
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /puʔ⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: borh⁷
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɒʔ⁴/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: borh⁷
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɒʔ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: po̍k
    • Tâi-lô: po̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: pok
    • IPA (Xiamen): /pɔk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pɔk̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /pɔk̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /pɔk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pɔk̚⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bog⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: po̍k
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pok̚⁴/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁸boq
    • MiniDict: boh^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵boq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /boʔ¹²/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: pu⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰu²⁴/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 僕
Mandarin	Beijing	/pʰu³⁵/
	Harbin	/pʰu²¹³/
	Tianjin	/pʰu⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/pʰu⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/pʰu⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/pʰu⁵³/
	Xi'an	/pʰu²⁴/
	Xining	/pʰv̩²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/pʰu⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/pʰu⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/pʰu⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/pʰu²¹³/
	Chengdu	/pʰu³¹/
	Guiyang	/pʰu²¹/
	Kunming	/pʰu³¹/
	Nanjing	/pʰuʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/pʰəʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/pʰaʔ²/
	Pingyao
	Hohhot	/pʰaʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/pʰoʔ⁵/ ～倒 /boʔ¹/ ～人
	Suzhou	/boʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/boʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/bo²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/pʰɔʔ²¹/
	Tunxi	/pʰu⁵/
Xiang	Changsha	/pʰu²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/pʰu²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/pʰuk̚⁵/
	Taoyuan	/pʰuk̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/pok̚²/ ～人 /pʰok̚⁵/ ～低
	Nanning	/pʰuk̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/pok̚²/ ～人 /pʰok̚⁵/ ～低
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/pʰɔk̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/puʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/pʰu²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/pʰok̚²/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ʔbok̚³/

---

• Middle Chinese: buwk, bowk

Rime
Character	僕	僕
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	並 (3)	並 (3)
Final (韻)	屋 (3)	沃 (6)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	蒲木切	蒲沃切
Baxter	buwk	bowk
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/buk̚/	/buok̚/
Pan Wuyun	/buk̚/	/buok̚/
Shao Rongfen	/buk̚/	/bok̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/bəwk̚/	/bawk̚/
Li Rong	/buk̚/	/bok̚/
Wang Li	/buk̚/	/buok̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/bʱuk̚/	/bʱuok̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bú	bú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	buk6	buk6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[b]ˤok/

  (Zhengzhang): /*boːɡ/, /*buːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	僕
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	pú
Middle Chinese	‹ buwk ›
Old Chinese	/*[b]ˁok/
English	charioteer, servant
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	僕	僕
Reading #	1/2	2/2
No.	9895	9899
Phonetic component	菐	菐
Rime group	屋	覺
Rime subdivision	0	1
Corresponding MC rime	暴	僕
Old Chinese	/*boːɡ/	/*buːɡ/

Definitions

僕

1. servant; slave (often male)

   僕人／仆人  ―  púrén  ―  servant

2. (literary, humble, men's speech) I; me; your humble servant
3. (obsolete) coachman; groom
4. (obsolete) to attach; to adhere

   • 君子萬年，景命有僕。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     君子万年，景命有仆。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Jūnzǐ wàn nián, jǐngmìng yǒu pú. [Pinyin]

     Yea for ten thousand years,
     The bright appointment is attached to your person.

5. a surname

Coordinate terms

• (slave): (female) 婢 (bì)

Compounds

• 主僕／主仆 (zhǔpú)
• 僕人／仆人 (púrén)
• 僕使／仆使
• 僕僕／仆仆
• 僮僕／僮仆
• 僕僮成群／仆僮成群
• 僕僕風塵／仆仆风尘
• 僕吏／仆吏
• 僕固懷恩／仆固怀恩
• 僕夫／仆夫
• 僕姑／仆姑
• 僕婦／仆妇
• 僕射／仆射 (púyè)
• 僕射姑／仆射姑
• 僕役／仆役 (púyì)
• 僕從／仆从 (púcóng)
• 僕憎／仆憎
• 僕歐／仆欧 (pú'ōu)
• 僕程／仆程
• 公僕／公仆 (gōngpú)
• 太僕／太仆 (tàipú)
• 女僕／女仆 (nǚpú)
• 奴僕／奴仆 (núpú)
• 婢僕／婢仆
• 家僕／家仆 (jiāpú)
• 更僕難數／更仆难数
• 狼僕／狼仆
• 童僕／童仆 (tóngpú)
• 老僕／老仆 (lǎopú)
• 金僕姑／金仆姑
• 隸僕／隶仆
• 風塵僕僕／风尘仆仆

 

References

• “僕”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “仆”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 179.

Japanese

Kanji

僕

(Jōyō kanji)

1. I (masculine speech)
2. manservant

Readings

• Go-on: ぼく (boku, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: ほく (hoku)
• Kun: しもべ (shimobe, 僕)、やつがれ (yatsugare, 僕)

Compounds

Derived terms

• 家(か)僕(ぼく) (kaboku)
• 学僕(がくぼく) (gakuboku)
• 下(げ)僕(ぼく) (geboku)
• 公僕(こうぼく) (kōboku)
• 校僕(こうぼく) (kōboku)
• 従(じゅう)僕(ぼく) (jūboku)
• 忠(ちゅう)実(じつ)な僕(しもべ) (chūjitsu na shimobe)
• 忠(ちゅう)僕(ぼく) (chūboku)
• 老僕(ろうぼく) (rōboku)
• 僕(ぼく)たち (bokutachi)
• 僕(ぼく)ら (bokura)
• 僕(ぼく)ん所(とこ) (bokuntoko)
• 僕達(ぼくたち) (bokutachi)
• 僕仲(ぼくなか)間(ま) (bokunakama)
• 僕(ぼく)婢(ひ) (bokuhi)
• 僕蔵(ぼくぞう) (Bokuzō)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
僕
ぼく Grade: S
goon

Shift in reading to use the on'yomi, becoming prevalent from around the Meiji period.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぼく [bóꜜkù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) ぼく [bòkú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [bo̞kɯ̟]

Noun

僕(ぼく) • (boku) 

1. manservant, servant

   Synonyms: 下僕 (geboku), 下男 (genan), (see below) 僕 (shimobe)

Pronoun

僕(ぼく) or 僕(ボク) • (boku) 

1. (men's speech) I; me (personal pronoun; usually used by males; implies that the speaker is a young boy or otherwise boyish)
   • 1997 August 12, Maekawa, Takeshi, “未(み)知(ち)なる大(だい)地(ち)への巻(まき) [To the Strange Land]”, in 新(しん)鉄(てっ)拳(けん)チンミ [New Ironfist Chinmi], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, page 32:

     ぼく？ぼくは南(なん)高(こう)山(ざん)大(だい)林(りん)寺(じ)からちょっとした用(よう)で…

     Boku? Boku wa Nankō-zan Dairin-ji kara chotto shita yō de…

     Me? I was sent by the Dairin Temple on Mount Nankō...

   • 2003 September 22, Akinobu Uraku, “第(だい)61話(わ)　愛(いと)しきものの為(ため)に [Chapter 61: All for Our Loved Ones]”, in 東(とう)京(きょう)アンダーグラウンド [Tokyo Underground], volume 11 (fiction), Square Enix, →ISBN, page 48:

     昔(むかし)の僕(ぼく)とは違(ちが)う

     Mukashi no boku to wa chigau

     I am not what I used to be.

   • Kore Yamazaki, “第1篇　April showers bring May flowers. [Composition 1: April showers bring May flowers.]”, in 魔法使いの嫁(The Ancient Magus Bride) [The Ancient Magus’ Bride], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Mag Garden, page 20:

     君(きみ)を魔法使い(ぼく)の弟(で)子(し)として歓(かん)迎(げい)するよ　死の愛し仔(スレイ・ベガ)…いや　チセ

     Kimi o boku no deshi to shite kangei suru yo Surei Bega… iya Chise

     You are welcome as my apprentice, Sleigh Beggey... I mean, Chise.

2. you, he, she (only used in reference to a person who uses this term to refer to themselves, or is one who is assumed to use it, such as a young boy)

   僕(ぼく)、迷(まい)子(ご)かな？

   Boku, maigo kana?

   Hi boy, are you lost?

   僕(ぼく)はいくつかな？

   Boku wa ikutsu kana?

   How old are you?

Usage notes

• If used by an adult male, semi-formal; in formal conversation 私 (watashi) is preferred.

See also

Japanese first-person pronouns

Japanese first-person pronouns by speakers and situations according to Yuko Saegusa, Concerning the First Personal Pronoun of Native Japanese Speakers (2009)

First-person pronouns by elementary school pupils (2008)

Speaker	Situation	1	2	3
Female	To friends	うち (uchi) 49%	First name 26%	あたし (atashi) 15%
	In the family	First name 33%	あたし (atashi) 29%	うち (uchi) 23%
	In a class	わたし (watashi) 86%	あたし (atashi) 7%	うち (uchi) 6%
	To an unknown visitor	わたし (watashi) 75%	あたし (atashi), first name, うち (uchi) 8% each
	To the class teacher	わたし (watashi) 66%	First name 13%	あたし (atashi) 9%
Male	To friends	おれ (ore) 72%	ぼく (boku) 19%	First name 4%
	In the family	おれ (ore) 62%	ぼく (boku) 23%	うち (uchi) 6%
	In a class	ぼく (boku) 85%	おれ (ore) 13%	First name, nickname 1% each
	To an unknown visitor	ぼく (boku) 64%	おれ (ore) 26%	First name 4%
	To the class teacher	ぼく (boku) 67%	おれ (ore) 27%	First name 3%

First-person pronouns by university students (2009)

Speaker	Situation	1	2	3
Female	To friends	うち (uchi) 39%	あたし (atashi) 30%	わたし (watashi) 22%
	In the family	あたし (atashi) 28%	First name 27%	うち (uchi) 18%
	In a class	わたし (watashi) 89%	あたし (atashi) 7%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 3%
	To an unknown visitor	わたし (watashi) 81%	あたし (atashi) 10%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 6%
	To the class teacher	わたし (watashi) 77%	あたし (atashi) 17%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 7%
Male	To friends	おれ (ore) 87%	うち (uchi) 4%	わたし (watashi), 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 2% each
	In the family	おれ (ore) 88%	ぼく (boku), 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 5% each
	In a class	わたし (watashi) 48%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 28%	ぼく (boku) 22%
	To an unknown visitor	ぼく (boku) 36%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 29%	わたし (watashi) 22%
	To the class teacher	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 38%	ぼく (boku) 29%	わたし (watashi) 22%

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
僕
しもべ Grade: S
kun'yomi

Originally a compound of 下 (shimo, “lower”) +‎ 部 (be, “servant to the imperial court”).

Alternative forms

• 下部

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しもべ [shìmóbé] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) しもべ [shìmóbéꜜ] (Odaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ɕimo̞be̞]

Noun

僕(しもべ) • (shimobe) 

1. manservant, servant

   Synonyms: 下僕 (geboku), 下男 (genan), (see above) 僕 (boku)

   忠実(ちゅうじつ)な僕(しもべ)

   chūjitsu na shimobe

   a faithful servant

2. a man of low social status
3. a low-ranking civil servant

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
僕
やつがれ Grade: S
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 僕 – see the following entry.

【やつがれ】 [pronoun] (humble, men's speech, somewhat dated) I, me

(This term, 僕, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Korean

Hanja

僕 (eum 복 (bok))

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

僕: Hán Nôm readings: bộc, bọc

1. -servant (always in compounds, e.g. công bộc "public serviceman", "civil servant")

References

• Nom Foundation