Chinese symbol for “buddhism”
释
shì
Traditional: 釋
to explain; to release; Buddha (abbr. for 释迦牟尼 (Shì jiā móu ní)); Buddhism
The closest CC-CEDICT match for buddhism is 释 (shì), defined as: to explain; to release; Buddha (abbr. for 释迦牟尼 (Shì jiā móu ní)); Buddhism.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “buddhism”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 释.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 解释 (解釋) | jiě shì | explanation; to explain |
| 释放 (釋放) | shì fàng | to release (a prisoner); to set free; to release (energy, gas, resources); to express (emotions, goodwill, intentions) |
| 诠释 (詮釋) | quán shì | to interpret; to comment and explain |
| 注释 (注釋) | zhù shì | to annotate; to add a comment; explanatory note; annotation |
| 获释 (獲釋) | huò shì | freed (from prison); to obtain release |
See also: Japanese symbol for “buddhism”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.