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

Short for the following saying:

平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳。 [MSC, trad.]
平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚。 [MSC, simp.]

Píngshí bù shāoxiāng, línshí bàofójiǎo. [Pinyin]

Never burning incense when all is well, but clasping the Buddha’s feet when one is in trouble.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bào fójiǎo

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄠˋ ㄈㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): pou⁵ fat⁶ goek³
Min Nan (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 fwɔ³⁵ t͡ɕjɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽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/
Min Nan
- (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)

to leave something to do at the last minute; to make a last-minute effort
(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
Min Bei	Jian'ou	抱佛跤
Min Nan	Xiamen	抱佛跤

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)

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