寺てら

て

ら

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

noun

Buddhist temple

Refers specifically to a Buddhist place of worship, as opposed to a Shinto shrine (神社).

週しゅう末まつに古ふるい寺てらを訪たずねた。
I visited an old temple over the weekend.

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Usage patterns

寺てらを建たてるto build a temple
この地ち域いきには江え戸ど時じ代だいに建たてられた寺てらが多おおい。
There are many temples in this area that were built during the Edo period.
寺てらで修しゅ行ぎょうするto train/practice ascetically at a temple
若わかい僧そうは山やまの寺てらで修しゅ行ぎょうしている。
The young monk is training at a mountain temple.
寺てらの鐘かねが鳴なるthe temple bell rings
大おお晦日みそかには寺てらの鐘かねが百ひゃく八はち回かい鳴なる。
On New Year's Eve, the temple bell rings one hundred and eight times.

Expressions

寺てらから里さとへputting the cart before the horse

Kanji

寺Buddhist temple

Related words· 7

寺じ院いんN2
寺院 is the formal, written-style word for a Buddhist temple, while 寺 is the everyday spoken word for the same thing.
仏ぶっ閣かく
仏閣 is a literary, somewhat old-fashioned term for a grand Buddhist temple, whereas 寺 is the plain, common word.
宮みやN1
寺 is the standard modern word for a Buddhist temple, while 宮 was only used for a temple in archaic Japanese.
僧そう院いん
寺 is the everyday, general word for a Buddhist temple, while 僧院 stresses the monastic community living and training there.

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堂どう
寺 is the everyday, general word for a Buddhist temple, while 堂 usually names a specific hall or building within such a complex.
禅ぜん寺でら
寺 is the everyday, generic word for a Buddhist temple, whereas 禅寺 narrows the reference to a Zen-school temple.
山やま寺でら
寺 is the plain, everyday word for temple; 山寺 adds the detail that the temple is located up in the mountains.

Politeness

お寺てら
寺 is the plain, neutral word for a temple, while お寺 adds the honorific/polite prefix お and is preferred in everyday polite speech.

Don't confuse with

神じん社じゃN5
寺 is a Buddhist temple while 神社 is a Shinto shrine, and learners often confuse the two despite them belonging to different religions.
社やしろN1
社 (やしろ) refers to a Shinto shrine while 寺 (てら) refers to a Buddhist temple, a distinction learners often blur when both are glossed as 'temple' or 'shrine' in English.
教きょう会かいN4
教会 is a Christian church, while 寺 is a Buddhist temple, so they name different religious buildings despite both being places of worship.

Word family· 20

お寺てら
temple · monk
山やま寺でら
mountain temple
尼あま寺でら
Buddhist nunnery; convent
寺てら子こ
child who attended a temple school (Edo period) · temple elementary school (Edo period)
寺てら男おとこ
male temple employee; temple handyman

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寺てら請うけ
temple certification of affiliation; temple-issued certificate proving Buddhist sect membership
氏うじ寺でら
clan temple; family temple
禅ぜん寺でら
Zen temple
脇わき寺でら
sub-temple; affiliated temple
寺てら入いり
enrolling in a temple school; child enrolled in a temple school · temple incarceration as punishment · going to a temple to repent
寺てら参まいり
temple visit; visiting a temple
寺てら納なっ豆とう
temple natto; year-end temple gift natto
寺てら預あずけ
temple confinement as punishment

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Written forms

寺てらUsage99%
Standard kanji spelling for a Buddhist temple.
てらUsage1%

Etymology

The kanji 寺 originally referred to a government office in ancient China, but in Japanese it came to specifically denote a Buddhist temple. The reading てら is a native Japanese word.