祠
small shrine
Readings
On'yomi
- シ
Kun'yomi
- ほこら
- まつる
Meaning
祠 centers on a small, dedicated place of worship: a modest shrine, often for a specific spirit or purpose.
Most common words using 祠
- 祠ほこら
hokora; small wayside shrine
- 叢祠そうし
small shrine in a thicket
- 古祠こし
old small shrine
- 小祠しょうし
small hokora; small shrine
- 淫祠いんし
shrine of evil deity
- 淫祠邪教いんしじゃきょう
evil heresies
- 生祠せいし
monument (stela, hokora, etc.) commemorating a living god
- 神祠しんし
shrine
- 祠堂しどう
lay ancestral hall; hall on temple grounds for holding mortuary tablets of lay parishioners
- 祠宇しう
shrine
Study
Etymology
祠 combines 示 (altar, spirit) with 司, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of administering or overseeing a sacred place.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 示 suggests an altar or spirit, and the right side 司 looks like a small enclosure. Picture a tiny altar enclosed in a modest structure: a small shrine.
Reading mnemonic
For シ, imagine a small shrine where you see a single candle flickering: see -> シ, and the light marks the sacred spot.