因果報應 / 因果报应
yīnguǒbàoyìng
Karma in Chinese is 因果報應 / 因果报应 (yīnguǒbàoyìng), the idea that a person's actions come back to them. If unsure, use 因果報應 / 因果报应. Wiktionary also lists 業 / 业 (yè) and 羯磨 (jiémó).
Meaning: the total effect of a person’s actions and conduct during the successive phases of his existence (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 因果報應 / 因果报应 | yīnguǒbàoyìng |
| 業 / 业 | yè |
| 羯磨 | jiémó |
It is used in moral or religious talk to say that good deeds lead to good results and bad deeds lead to bad results. In casual conversation it is often shortened to 因果.
What does it mean word for word?
因果報應 joins 因果, cause and effect, with 報應, retribution or recompense.
Which one should you use?
業 / 业 (yè) is the Buddhist term for karma itself, and 业力 is a formal word for it. 羯磨 (jiémó) is a sound based transliteration.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
羯磨 is highly technical and is used almost only in formal Buddhist academic or liturgical texts. In everyday speech people say 因果報應 or 因果.
How do you pronounce it?
Say yīnguǒbàoyìng with a high level tone, a dipping tone and then two falling tones.
Did you know?
- While 因果報應 refers to the moral result of one's actions, the character 業 / 业 is also the standard modern Chinese word for 'industry' or 'profession'.
- The character 業 / 业 for karma originally represented a beam from which bells and chimes hung, or a person lifting such a beam.
Examples in context
- 他现在所受的苦难是他之前行为所积累的业力。The sufferings he is experiencing now are the karmic consequences of his past actions.
- 他欺负别人，迟早会有报应的。He bullies others, and sooner or later, karma will catch up with him.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “karma” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 業, 羯磨, CC BY-SA 4.0.
