坊さん|ぼうさんbousan[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounBuddhist priest; monk
   あの偉えらい坊ぼうさんを見みろよ。↗

   Look at the big shot.
2. nounboy

• Synonym和尚おしょうNeutralRefers to a temple's head priest and doubles as an honorific for monks; 「坊さん」 is an affectionate everyday term for monks in general.
• Synonymお坊さんおぼうさんNeutralAdding 「お」 makes it politer and very common in daily speech; plain 「坊さん」 sounds slightly more casual.
• Synonym僧そうWrittenWritten style for a Buddhist monk; stands alone or forms compounds like 「僧兵」「高僧」, while 「坊さん」 is the colloquial way to say it.
• Synonym僧侶そうりょWrittenWritten and fairly formal, denoting the priestly status itself; 「坊さん」 is the warm, colloquial way to address one.
• Synonym坊主ぼうずCasualColloquial, with a scornful or familiar tone; also means a shaved head or a young boy. 「坊さん」 is the politer choice.
• Antonym在家ざいけWrittenWritten word for a layperson who has not left secular life; the opposite of 「坊さん」 in terms of entering the priesthood.
• Antonym俗人ぞくじんNeutralThe opposite of 「坊さん」 in terms of entering the priesthood: an ordinary layperson living in the world.

In everyday speech use 「坊さん」 or the politer 「お坊さん」; 「和尚」 is a temple's head priest, 「僧侶」 the formal term for the priestly status, 「僧」 for written prose. 「坊主」 is casual, often scornful, and can mean a shaved head. Antonyms: 「在家」 and 「俗人」, both laypeople.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 僧侶そうりょを親したしみを込こめて呼よぶ語ご。