Where does “ぶん” come from?
ぶん (Middle Chinese) comes from Japanese ぶち, from Japanese ぶつ, from Middle Chinese 佛, from Pali Buddha, from Sanskrit बुद्ध, from Proto-Indo-Aryan buddʰás, from Proto-Indo-Iranian bʰudᶻdʰás, from Proto-Indo-European bʰudʰtós — to be awake, be aware.
Ancestry of “ぶん”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | ぶち | very |
| 2 | Japanese | ぶつ | — |
| 3 | Middle Chinese | 佛 | — |
| 4 | Pali | Buddha | Buddha, the enlightened one |
| 5 | Sanskrit | बुद्ध | awake; enlightened, conscious, intelligent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | buddʰás | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | bʰudᶻdʰás | aware, awake |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰudʰtós | aware |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewdʰ- | to be awake, be aware |