斎さい場じょう

さ

い

じょ

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

funeral hall; funeral home

A facility where funerals or memorial services are held. The most common modern meaning.

葬そう儀ぎは午ご後ご二に時じから斎さい場じょうで行おこなわれます。
The funeral will be held at the funeral hall from 2 p.m.

noun

ceremony site; ritual site

A broader, somewhat formal term for a place where any ceremony (not just funerals) is conducted. Often used in religious or official contexts.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉で葬そう儀ぎを行おこなうto hold a funeral at a place
斎さい場じょうで葬そう儀ぎを行おこなった。
The funeral was held at the funeral hall.
〈場ば所しょ〉を予よ約やくするto reserve a venue
来らい週しゅうの葬そう儀ぎのために斎さい場じょうを予よ約やくした。
We reserved the funeral hall for next week's funeral.

Kanji

斎purification, Buddhist food, room
場location, place

Related words

葬そう儀ぎ場じょう sense 1
葬儀場 refers specifically to a funeral hall, while 斎場 can also denote a broader ceremony site beyond funerals.
式しき場じょうN1sense 2
式場 is a general ceremony hall used for weddings or other events, whereas 斎場 usually implies a more solemn or religious ceremony such as a funeral.

Don't confuse with

火か葬そう場ば sense 1
火葬場 is specifically the crematorium where bodies are cremated, while 斎場 is the hall where the funeral ceremony itself takes place (though the two are sometimes combined in one facility).

Etymology

From 斎 (purification, religious abstinence) + 場 (place). Originally a place for Shinto or Buddhist purification rituals, later extended to funeral halls.