# 僕

| 僕 | U+50D5, &#20693; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-50D5 |
| ← 僔 [U+50D4] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 僖 → [U+50D6] |

## Translingual

| Japanese | 僕 |
| Simplified | 仆 |
| Traditional | 僕 |

### Han character

僕 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+12, 14 strokes, cangjie input 人廿金人 (OTCO), four-corner 2223$_4$, composition ⿰亻菐)

#### Derived terms

* 𡂈, 㙸, 𢷏, 濮, 𨽂, 㯷, 𤪟, 𥣜, 襥, 纀(𰬿), 𧭎, 𨆯, 𨮓, 𩍩, 𦿍, 𥵜, 𫸆, 𫶟

#### 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
### Glyph origin

* Historical forms of the character 僕
* Oracle bone scriptj05000Bronze inscriptionsb03327b03328b03329b03330b03331b03332b03333b03334b03335b03336b03337Small seal scripts01961s01962Transcribed ancient scriptsL37363L37364L37365L37366L37367L37368L37369L37370L25033L25034L25035L25036L25037L25038L25039L25040L25041L25042
* 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).
| | 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 (pu$^2$)
       (Zhuyin): ㄆㄨˊ
    (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): pu$^2$
* Cantonese
    (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): buk$^6$
    (Taishan, Wiktionary): buuk$^5$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): phuk / phu̍k / phù
    (Meixian, Guangdong): pug$^6$
* Jin (Wiktionary): pah$^5$ / peh$^5$
* Northern Min (KCR): pŭ
* Eastern Min (BUC): bŭk
* Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): borh$^7$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): po̍k
    (Teochew, Peng'im): bog$^8$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^8$boq
* Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): pu$^6$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: pú
*** Zhuyin: ㄆㄨˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: pú
*** Wade–Giles: pʻu$^2$
*** Yale: pú
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: pwu
*** Palladius: пу (pu)
*** Sinological IPA : /pʰu³⁵/
** (Chengdu)
*** Sichuanese Pinyin: pu$^2$
*** Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: pu
*** Sinological IPA : /pʰu²¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: buk$^6$
*** Yale: buhk
*** Cantonese Pinyin: buk$^9$
*** Guangdong Romanization: bug$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /pʊk̚²/
** (Taishanese, Taicheng)
*** Wiktionary: buuk$^5$
*** Sinological IPA : /pɵk̚³²/
* Hakka
** (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phuk / phu̍k
*** Hakka Romanization System: pug$^ˋ$ / pug
*** Hagfa Pinyim: pug$^5$ / pug$^6$
*** Sinological IPA: /pʰuk̚²/, /pʰuk̚⁵/
** (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phù
*** Hakka Romanization System: pu$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: pu$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /pʰu¹¹/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: pug$^6$
*** Sinological IPA: /pʰʊk̚⁵/
* Jin
** (Taiyuan)
*** Wiktionary: pah$^5$ / peh$^5$
*** Sinological IPA (old-style): /pʰaʔ⁵⁴/, /pʰəʔ⁵⁴/
* pah5 - colloquial;
* peh5 - literary.
* Dialectal data
| Variety | Location | edit僕 |
| Mandarin | Beijing | /pʰu³⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Harbin | /pʰu²¹³/ |
| Mandarin | Tianjin | /pʰu⁴⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Jinan | /pʰu⁵⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Qingdao | /pʰu⁵⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Zhengzhou | /pʰu⁵³/ |
| Mandarin | Xi'an | /pʰu²⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Xining | /pʰv̩²⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Yinchuan | /pʰu⁵³/ |
| Mandarin | Lanzhou | /pʰu⁵³/ |
| Mandarin | Ürümqi | /pʰu⁵¹/ |
| Mandarin | Wuhan | /pʰu²¹³/ |
| Mandarin | Chengdu | /pʰu³¹/ |
| Mandarin | Guiyang | /pʰu²¹/ |
| Mandarin | Kunming | /pʰu³¹/ |
| Mandarin | Nanjing | /pʰuʔ⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Hefei | /pʰəʔ⁵/ |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /pʰaʔ²/ |
| Jin | Pingyao | |
| Jin | Hohhot | /pʰaʔ⁴³/ |
| Wu | Shanghai | /pʰoʔ⁵/ ～倒 /boʔ¹/ ～人 |
| Wu | Suzhou | /boʔ³/ |
| Wu | Hangzhou | /boʔ²/ |
| Wu | Wenzhou | /bo²¹³/ |
| Hui | Shexian | /pʰɔʔ²¹/ |
| Hui | Tunxi | /pʰu⁵/ |
| Xiang | Changsha | /pʰu²⁴/ |
| Xiang | Xiangtan | /pʰu²⁴/ |
| Gan | Nanchang | |
| Hakka | Meixian | /pʰuk̚⁵/ |
| Hakka | Taoyuan | /pʰuk̚²²/ |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /pok̚²/ ～人 /pʰok̚⁵/ ～低 |
| Cantonese | Nanning | /pʰuk̚²²/ |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | /pok̚²/ ～人 /pʰok̚⁵/ ～低 |
| Min | Xiamen (Hokkien) | /pʰɔk̚⁵/ |
| Min | Fuzhou (Eastern Min) | /puʔ⁵/ |
| Min | Jian'ou (Northern Min) | /pʰu²⁴/ |
| Min | Shantou (Teochew) | /pʰok̚²/ |
| Min | 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/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /bʱuk̚/ | /bʱuok̚/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | bú | bú |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | buk$^6$ | buk$^6$ |
* 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
* servant; slave (often male)
    僕人／仆人 ― púrén ― servant
* (literary, humble, men's speech) I; me; your humble servant
* (obsolete) coachman; groom
* (obsolete) to attach; to adhere
    From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th 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.
* 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)‎, 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

(Jōyō kanji)
* I (masculine speech)
* 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

* 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: [bo̞kɯ̟]

#### Noun

僕(ぼく) • (boku)
* manservant, servant
    Synonyms: 下僕 (geboku), 下男 (genan), (see below) 僕 (shimobe)

#### Pronoun

僕(ぼく) or 僕(ボク) • (boku)
* (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 ChiseYou are welcome as my apprentice, Sleigh Beggey... I mean, Chise.
* 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 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% |
| Female | In the family | First name 33% | あたし (atashi) 29% | うち (uchi) 23% |
| Female | In a class | わたし (watashi) 86% | あたし (atashi) 7% | うち (uchi) 6% |
| Female | To an unknown visitor | わたし (watashi) 75% | あたし (atashi), first name, うち (uchi) 8% each | あたし (atashi), first name, うち (uchi) 8% each |
| Female | 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% |
| Male | In the family | おれ (ore) 62% | ぼく (boku) 23% | うち (uchi) 6% |
| Male | In a class | ぼく (boku) 85% | おれ (ore) 13% | First name, nickname 1% each |
| Male | To an unknown visitor | ぼく (boku) 64% | おれ (ore) 26% | First name 4% |
| Male | 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% |
| Female | In the family | あたし (atashi) 28% | First name 27% | うち (uchi) 18% |
| Female | In a class | わたし (watashi) 89% | あたし (atashi) 7% | 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 3% |
| Female | To an unknown visitor | わたし (watashi) 81% | あたし (atashi) 10% | 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 6% |
| Female | 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 |
| Male | In the family | おれ (ore) 88% | ぼく (boku), 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 5% each | ぼく (boku), 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 5% each |
| Male | In a class | わたし (watashi) 48% | 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 28% | ぼく (boku) 22% |
| Male | To an unknown visitor | ぼく (boku) 36% | 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 29% | わたし (watashi) 22% |
| Male | 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
* Alternative spellings
* 下部 隷 (rare)
Compound of 下(しも) (shimo, “lower”) + 部(べ) (be, “servant to the imperial court”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) しもべ [shìmóbé] (Heiban – [0])
* (Tokyo) しもべ [shìmóbéꜜ] (Odaka –)
* IPA: [ɕimo̞be̞]

#### Noun

僕(しもべ) • (shimobe)
* 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
* a man of low social status
* 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.) :

### References

* 1 2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 5 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 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

## Korean
### Hanja

僕 (eum 복 (bok))
* 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
* -servant (always in compounds, e.g. công bộc "public serviceman", "civil servant")

#### References

* Nom Foundation