noun
The overhanging lower edge of a roof. Common in everyday contexts and architecture.
雨が降ってきたので、軒の下で雨宿りをした。
It started raining, so we took shelter under the eaves.
古い家の軒にはツバメの巣がある。
There is a swallow's nest under the eaves of the old house.
noun
narrow aisle around a temple core
Architectural term: a narrow corridor or aisle surrounding the central hall of a Buddhist temple. Compare with 庇 (ひさし) sense 2.
See also: 庇
このお寺の本堂の周りには、軒と呼ばれる細い通路がある。
Around the main hall of this temple, there is a narrow aisle called のき.
Rare kanji variant for eaves; not commonly used in modern Japanese.
Rare kanji variant for eaves; may be confused with other readings such as う.
庇 can also mean eaves, but more commonly refers to a visor, awning, or the overhang above a window. Sense 2 of 庇 is a similar temple architectural term.
The kanji 軒 is a phono-semantic compound with 車 (vehicle) and 干 (dry), but its use for 'eaves' is a borrowing. The reading のき is native Japanese, and the exact derivation is uncertain.