念珠

See also: 唸珠

Chinese

		to miss; to think of; to read to miss; to think of; to read; to study (a subject); to attend (a school); to read aloud; idea; remembrance; twenty	pearl; bead
trad. (念珠/唸珠)		念/唸	珠
simp. (念珠)		念	珠

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): niànzhū

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄓㄨ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): nim⁶ zyu¹
• Jin (Wiktionary): nie³ zu¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): liām-chu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): niam⁷ zu¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: niànzhū
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄓㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: niànjhu
    • Wade–Giles: nien⁴-chu¹
    • Yale: nyàn-jū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: niannju
    • Palladius: няньчжу (njanʹčžu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni̯ɛn⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: niànzhūr
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄓㄨㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: niànjhur
    • Wade–Giles: nien⁴-chu¹-ʼrh
    • Yale: nyàn-jūr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: niannjul
    • Palladius: няньчжур (njanʹčžur)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni̯ɛn⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂuɻʷ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: nim⁶ zyu¹
    • Yale: nihm jyū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: nim⁶ dzy¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: nim⁶ ju¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /niːm²² t͡syː⁵⁵/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: nie³ zu¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /nie⁴⁵ t͡su¹¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liām-chu
    • Tâi-lô: liām-tsu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liaxmzw
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /liam³³⁻²¹ t͡su⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /liam²²⁻²¹ t͡su⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /liam³³⁻¹¹ t͡su⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: niam⁷ zu¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: niām tsu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /niam¹¹ t͡su³³/

Noun

念珠

1. prayer beads; rosary

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 數珠 (“prayer beads; rosary”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		數珠, 念珠, 佛珠
Mandarin	Beijing	數珠兒, 念珠兒
	Yangzhou	佛珠子
Gan	Lichuan	念佛珠
Hakka	Meixian	佛珠
	Yudu	佛珠, 念珠
Jin	Taiyuan	念珠
Northern Min	Jian'ou	彌陀珠
Southern Min	Xiamen	數珠, 香珠, 捾珠
	Zhangzhou	捾珠
	Tainan	數珠, 念珠, 佛珠
Wu	Wenzhou	念佛珠珠, 拜佛珠珠

Derived terms

• 念珠菌 (niànzhūjūn)
• 念珠菌症 (niànzhūjūnzhèng)

 

Japanese

Alternative forms

• (honorific) お念珠(ねんじゅ) (o-nenju)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
念	珠
ねん Grade: 4	す > ず Grade: S
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 念珠 (nem^H t͡ɕio, literally “thinking + pearls”), in reference to “beads used for thinking [about the Buddha]”: that is, prayer beads, a rosary. The goon reading, so likely the earliest borrowing. Note that the second character 珠 has a goon reading of su. The su changes to zu as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ね​んず [néꜜǹzù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [nẽ̞nd͡zɨᵝ]

Noun

念(ねん)珠(ず) • (nenzu) 

1. prayer beads, rosary

Usage notes

The reading nenzu is a homophone with several terms of related meanings:

• the older reading of the term 念誦 (nenzu), meaning “the act of focusing on the image of the Buddha within one's mind, and reciting or chanting the sutras or the name of Buddha”.
• the classical Japanese verb 念ず (nenzu) (modern 念ずる nenzuru or 念じる nenjiru) meaning “to pray, to pray for safety and protection, to recite silently (a prayer, chant, sutra, or the name of Buddha)”.
• the classical Japanese verb 捻ず or 拈ず (nenzu, obsolete in modern Japanese), meaning “to twist or twirl, to pinch or pick with the fingers”, much as one would twist or pinch the beads of the rosary.

Both the nenzu and nenju readings are still in use. Nenju appears to be more common.

Synonyms

• 数珠 (juzu, zuzu)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
念	珠
ねん Grade: 4	しゅ > じゅ Grade: S
on’yomi

Alteration of nenzu above, using the kan'on reading of shu for the 珠 character. The shu changes to ju as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ね​んじゅ [néꜜǹjù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [nẽ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑɨᵝ]

Noun

念(ねん)珠(じゅ) • (nenju) 

1. prayer beads, rosary

Usage notes

The reading nenju is a homophone with the relatively newer reading of the term 念誦 (nenju), meaning “the act of focusing on the image of the Buddha within one's mind, and reciting or chanting the sutras or the name of Buddha”.

Both the nenzu and nenju readings are still in use. Nenju appears to be more common.

Synonyms

• 数珠 (juzu, zuzu)

Korean

Hanja in this term
念	珠

Noun

念珠 • (yeomju) (hangeul 염주)

1. Hanja form^? of 염주 (“prayer beads, rosary”).