Usage patterns 神しん 聖せい な 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 a sacred/holy place
This shrine is regarded as a sacred place.
〈 事こと 〉 の 神しん 聖せい を 冒おか す to violate/desecrate the sanctity of something
That act desecrated the sanctity of marriage.
〈 事こと 〉 の 神しん 聖せい を 守まも る to preserve/protect the sanctity of something
The ritual is performed to preserve the sanctity of tradition.
Related words· 6 聖なる is a pre-noun adjective used in fixed phrases like 聖なる夜 , while 神聖 is a noun/na-adjective describing the abstract quality of sanctity.
神々しい is an i-adjective describing something that looks or feels divine/awe-inspiring, while 神聖 is a more abstract noun/na-adjective for the quality of being sacred.
神聖 is the common, general word for 'sacred/holy' usable on its own, while 聖 usually appears only as a prefix or inside fixed compounds.
神聖 emphasizes sacredness or holiness, while 不可侵 stresses that something must not be violated or attacked, often in legal or political contexts.
Show 2 more Show fewer 神聖 means sacred or holy in a religious sense, whereas 崇高 can describe secular greatness that inspires awe, such as an ideal or a landscape.
神聖 means sacred or holy, tied to religious or ceremonial contexts, while 貴い can describe secular things like life or memories as well.
Don't confuse with 神性 (same pronunciation) means 'divine nature/godhood', a specific attribute of a deity, whereas 神聖 means 'holiness/sanctity' as a general quality something can have.
神聖 means sacred or holy (a moral/religious purity), while 神秘的 means mysterious or mystical (an unexplainable quality); they share the kanji 神 but describe different things.
Word family sanctification; consecration
regarding as sacred; deification; sanctification
hieroglyph; hieroglyphics
Etymology Compound of 神 (shin, 'god, deity') and 聖 (sei, 'holy, sacred'). The combination has been used in Chinese-derived vocabulary to express the concept of divine sanctity.
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