僕 (pú) - Servant, attendant & I, me (humble first-person pronoun in Japanese)

僕Tone 2

pú ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

柠七

僕 · pú

Servant, attendant;

I, me (humble first-person pronoun in Japanese);

manservant;

follower.

Servant, attendantI, me (humble first-person pronoun in Japanese)manservant

Usage highlights

ServantManservantHumble servantServant's dutyOld servantServant girl

Synonyms

  • 奴— slave, servant
  • 侍— attendant, retainer
  • 傭— hired servant

Antonyms

  • 主— master, lord
  • 君— ruler, monarch

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He works as a servant (僕) in a noble household.
  • In Japanese, young men often use 'boku' (僕) as a first-person pronoun.
  • The loyal servant (僕) followed his master everywhere.
  • The novel features a humble manservant (僕) as the protagonist.

Collocations

  • Servant(僕人)
  • Manservant(男僕)
  • Humble servant(謙僕)
  • Servant's duty(僕役)
  • Old servant(老僕)
  • Servant girl(僕女)

Idioms

  • Servant's loyalty(僕之忠)
  • Humble servant's words(僕言)
  • Servant following his master(僕隨主)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In classical Chinese, 僕 was used as a humble first-person pronoun by men of lower status.
  • In Japanese, 僕 (boku) evolved as a masculine first-person pronoun, originally expressing humility.
  • The character reflects historical social hierarchies where servants held specific roles in households.

FAQ