Suffix or compound-final element meaning a building, house, hut, or lodging place. It is not an everyday standalone word for a house; it appears naturally in compounds such as 駅舎, 校舎, 兵舎, and 宿舎.
古い駅舎が観光名所になっている。
The old station building has become a tourist attraction.
dormitory; residence hall; boarding house
Abbreviation of 寄宿舎. As a standalone noun it is limited and context-dependent, especially in school or institutional settings; 寮 is the more common everyday word for a dormitory.
See also: 寄宿舎
one day's march; about 12.2 km
Archaic historical term from the ancient Chinese military system, referring to the distance covered in one day's march, approximately 12.2 kilometers. Not used in ordinary modern Japanese.
新しい校舎は来年完成する予定だ。
The new school building is scheduled to be completed next year.
At this school, the dormitory is sometimes shortened to sha.
In the old Chinese military system, one sha referred to a march of about twelve kilometers.
家 is the everyday native word for a house, whereas 舎 only conveys 'building/house' as a formal compound element, as in 校舎 or 兵舎.
寄宿舎 is the full, formal word for a boarding house/dormitory, and 舎 can be used as its shortened form in certain contexts.
小屋 is a common standalone word for a hut or shed, while 舎 expresses a similar 'building' idea mainly inside compounds like 牛舎 or 鶏舎.
社 and 舎 share the same on-reading しゃ and both appear as suffixes in compounds, but 社 means 'company/shrine' while 舎 means 'building, hall' (as in 校舎).
school building; schoolhouse
Buddhist relics; cremated remains of a holy person · grain of rice; cooked rice
lodging; accommodation; hotel · housing (for government employees)
government office building
station building
stable; barn; cowshed
barracks; military quarters
one's younger brother · sworn younger brother; underling; junior male peer
dormitory; boarding house; residence hall
Sino-Japanese しゃ reading of the kanji 舎, conventionally associated with lodging, a building, or a place to stay. The exact historical development of each Japanese use is not specified.
city hall; town hall
school building
cow shed; cattle barn
temple; monastery; convent
official residence
dormitory dean; housemaster; dorm supervisor
poultry house; chicken coop
livestock barn; cattle shed
servant; valet; footman · close attendant to the emperor or imperial family · low-ranking official under the ritsuryō system · ox-tender; horse boy · honorary junior official of the Imperial Household Department's Board of Ceremonies
three days' march (approx. 36.5 km)
five residences for court ladies (Heian Palace)
entering a dormitory; moving into a dorm
official residence
sentry box; guardhouse
barracks
kindergarten building; preschool building
monk's quarters; monk's living area
large and small buildings (esp. shrines and temples)