境けい内だい

け

い

だ

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

Refers to the enclosed area of a shrine or temple, including buildings, gardens, and paths. Often used in contexts of visiting, walking around, or describing the atmosphere of the sacred space.

神じん社じゃの境けい内だいはとても静しずかだった。
The shrine grounds were very quiet.
境けい内だいに入はいる前まえに手てを清きよめてください。
Please purify your hands before entering the precincts.

See all 104 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

境けい内だいに入はいるto enter the shrine/temple grounds
鳥とり居いをくぐって境けい内だいに入はいった。
I passed through the torii gate and entered the shrine grounds.
境けい内だいを歩あるくto walk around the shrine/temple grounds
静しずかな境けい内だいをゆっくり歩あるいた。
I strolled slowly through the quiet temple grounds.
境けい内だいで〈事こと〉が行おこなわれるfor an event to be held on the shrine/temple grounds
毎まい年とし秋あきに境けい内だいで祭まつりが行おこなわれる。
A festival is held on the shrine grounds every autumn.
境けい内だいに〈物もの〉があるfor something to be located within the shrine/temple grounds
境けい内だいに大おおきな銀杏いちょうの木きがある。
There is a large gingko tree on the temple grounds.

Kanji

境boundary, border, region
内inside, within, between

Related words

敷しき地ちN2
敷地 is a general word for the plot of land a building sits on, while 境内 refers specifically to the grounds of a shrine or temple.
神しん域いき
神域 emphasizes the sacred, spiritually set-apart nature of a shrine's land, while 境内 is the more neutral, everyday term for the same physical grounds.
宮みや地ち
境内 is the everyday word for shrine or temple grounds, while 宮地 is a more specialized term used mainly in historical, legal, or administrative contexts.
山さん内ない
境内 specifically means the precincts of a shrine or temple, whereas 山内 more broadly covers mountainous areas and only sometimes refers to temple grounds.

Don't confuse with

寺じ社しゃ
寺社 refers to temples and shrines themselves as institutions or buildings, while 境内 refers to the enclosed land they occupy.
参さん道どう
参道 is the path leading up to a shrine or temple, while 境内 is the shrine or temple grounds themselves that the path leads into.
構こう内ない
境内 refers specifically to the grounds of a shrine or temple, while 構内 is the broader term for the premises of stations, schools, or factories, and the two kanji look easy to mix up.
領りょう内ない
境内 refers to the grounds of a shrine or temple, while 領内 refers to the area inside a political domain; both end in 内 but denote different kinds of enclosed space.

Written forms

境けい内だいUsage99%
Standard kanji spelling; the only written form.
けいだいUsage1%

Etymology

境内 is composed of 境 (boundary, border) and 内 (inside), literally meaning 'inside the boundary'. It has been used since classical times to denote the sacred precincts of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.