About
The character "伽" originally functioned as a phonetic loan character in early Chinese texts, primarily used to transcribe foreign sounds, particularly from Sanskrit, as seen in terms like "伽藍" for saṅghārāma (monastery). Its structure combines the semantic component "亻" (person), which broadly suggests human association, with the phonetic component "加", which provided its pronunciation. Over centuries, its application became more specialized within Buddhist contexts, notably in the name of the Bodhisattva "伽耶" and in "瑜伽" (yoga), a term denoting spiritual practice. While retaining its core role in transcription, the character also developed a distinct meaning in Japanese as "kaga" or "kyō", referring to a type of aromatic wood, demonstrating a semantic shift separate from its Chinese phonetic origins.
Example Sentences Hide
瑜伽可以帮助放松身心。
这座伽蓝历史悠久，非常有名。
他正在阅读伽利略的传记。
科学家伽利略改进了望远镜。
印尼的伽美兰音乐很有特色。
这位僧人精通伽陀的创作。
瑜伽伽师正在指导学员动作。
这尊佛像具有犍陀罗艺术风格。