不看僧面看佛面 in English bu4 kan4 seng1 mian4 kan4 fo2 mian4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) not for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's sake (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically (to do sth for somebody) out of deference to somebody else

Simplified Characters

不 看 僧 面 看 佛 面

Traditional Characters

不 看 僧 面 看 佛 面

Pinyin

bu4 kan4 seng1 mian4 kan4 fo2 mian4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

不bu4(negative prefix) 看kan4to look after 僧seng1monk 面mian4face 看kan4to look after 佛fu2Buddha 面mian4face