抱佛腳

See also: 抱佛脚

Chinese

		to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug or embrace to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug or embrace; surround; cherish	Buddha; Buddhism	role; foot; base
trad. (抱佛腳)		抱	佛	腳
simp. (抱佛脚)		抱	佛	脚
alternative forms		抱佛跤 Min 抱佛骹 Min
Literally: “to grab the Buddha's foot”.

Etymology

The sense of "profess Buddhism" was attested in Meng Jiao's poem:

垂老抱佛腳，教妻讀黃經。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

垂老抱佛脚，教妻读黄经。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Meng Jiao, 《讀經》

Chuílǎo bào fó jiǎo, jiào qī dú huángjīng. [Pinyin]

I grabbed Buddha's feet (professed Buddhism) at old age, and taught my wife to read Buddhist texts.

The sense of "to do something at last minute" is short for 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳／平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚 (píngshí bù shāoxiāng, línshí bào fójiǎo), an idiom which was derived from the above poem.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bào fójiǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄠˋ ㄈㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): pou⁵ fat⁶ goek³
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): phō-pu̍t-kha / phāu-hu̍t-kha / phō-hu̍t-kha

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bào fójiǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄠˋ ㄈㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bào fójiǎo
    • Wade–Giles: pao⁴ fo²-chiao³
    • Yale: bàu fwó-jyǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: baw forjeau
    • Palladius: бао фоцзяо (bao foczjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɑʊ̯⁵¹ fu̯ɔ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: pou⁵ fat⁶ goek³
    • Yale: póuh faht geuk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: pou⁵ fat⁹ goek⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: pou⁵ fed⁶ gêg³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰou̯¹³ fɐt̚² kœːk̚³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phō-pu̍t-kha
    • Tâi-lô: phō-pu̍t-kha
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phoixpudqaf
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰɤ³³⁻²¹ put̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /pʰo³³⁻¹¹ put̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /pʰo²²⁻²¹ put̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phāu-hu̍t-kha
    • Tâi-lô: phāu-hu̍t-kha
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phauxhudqaf
    • IPA (Taipei): /pʰau³³⁻¹¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰau³³⁻²¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phō-hu̍t-kha
    • Tâi-lô: phō-hu̍t-kha
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phoixhudqaf
    • IPA (Taipei): /pʰo³³⁻¹¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰɤ³³⁻²¹ hut̚⁴⁻³² kʰa⁴⁴/

Verb

抱⫽佛腳 (verb-object)

1. to leave something to do at the last minute; to make a last-minute effort
2. (original meaning, now rare) to profess Buddhism

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 臨時抱佛腳 (“to do something hurriedly only at the last minute”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		臨時抱佛腳, 急來抱佛腳, 急時抱佛腳, 急則抱佛腳, 抱佛腳, 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳
Mandarin	Taiwan	臨時抱佛腳, 抱佛腳, 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳
Cantonese	Guangzhou	閒時唔燒香，急時抱佛腳, 平時唔燒香，臨急抱佛腳
	Hong Kong	臨急抱佛腳, 平時唔燒香，臨急抱佛腳
	Kaiping (Chikan)	臨嫁錐耳
Northern Min	Jian'ou	抱佛跤
Southern Min	Xiamen	抱佛跤
Wu	Shanghai	臨時抱佛腳

Derived terms

• 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳／平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚 (píngshí bù shāoxiāng, línshí bào fójiǎo)
• 急來抱佛腳／急来抱佛脚
• 急則抱佛腳／急则抱佛脚
• 急時抱佛腳／急时抱佛脚
• 臨急抱佛腳／临急抱佛脚 (línjí bào fójiǎo)
• 臨時抱佛腳／临时抱佛脚 (línshí bào fójiǎo)

 

References

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “抱佛腳” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].