What 寺 means
It began as an official institution, then became a Buddhist-temple word. Its recognisable form is attested in seal-script sources before Buddhism reached China. Early explanations connect its hand-and-measure components with holding and enforcing rules, fitting its early use for government bureaus.
Traditional Eastern Han accounts say Indian monks were housed at Honglu Temple and later associated with White Horse Temple. As Buddhist institutions spread, the religious reading became dominant; the office sense survived in historical names and texts.
The history links 寺 with 侍 and 持 in etymological accounts, and with 刹 as a Buddhist temple term. In Japanese institution names, 寺 marks a Buddhist temple; 神社 marks a Shinto shrine.
Who writes 寺
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What it means when someone sends it to you
4 readingsA Buddhist temple or monastery.
Related characters
3
神社 Japanese word for a Shinto shrine; paired with 寺 in 寺社 to contrast Buddhist temples with Shinto shrines.
Combination ideas
3Questions people ask
3Is 寺 a Shinto shrine?
No. In Japanese writing, 寺 marks a Buddhist temple; 神社 marks a Shinto shrine.
Why does 寺 look different in Japanese text?
It can. Regional CJK fonts may draw the same Han character differently; that is a font choice, not a different character.
What does 寺 mean by itself in a message?
Context matters. Ask for the surrounding language: its reading and sense depend on whether the text is modern Chinese, Japanese, or historical.
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How to type or find 寺
- Search it as
- 寺 · temple · tera · ji · sì · si4 · kanji · hanzi
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
寺\5BFACodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.