Revision History

loadingDate    Editor    Name ID    Change Summary
4/23/2024, 9:35 PM Mike C guanyin added (from user-submitted name 343440)
12/25/2020, 12:17 PM HL 343440
8/14/2020, 5:36 PM HL

Gender Feminine
Usage Buddhism
Scripts 观音(Chinese) 觀音(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced Pron. /kwan.in/(Chinese)

Meaning & History

Means "one who observes sounds", from Chinese (guān) meaning "to observe, to see" and (yīn) meaning "sound, tone", referring to prayers. This is the Chinese name of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion (who is regarded as female in China). It originated as a calque of Sanskrit अवलोकितस्वर (Avalokitasvara), an earlier form of Avalokiteshvara's name.