寺 (sì) — Buddhist temple; mosque (in 清真寺)

Definition

寺 (sì) is the building itself; 寺庙 is the more general term for a temple (Buddhist or Taoist). 寺 also extends to a mosque in 清真寺.

noun

Buddhist templemosque (in 清真寺)

Measure word · 座

Easily confused

寺。
Wǒ men míng tiān qù cān guān nà zuò sì.
We'll go visit that temple tomorrow.
寺。
Zhè zuò sì yǒu yì qiān duō nián de lì shǐ le.
This temple has a history of over a thousand years.
。
Chéng shì lǐ yǒu yí zuò hěn dà de qīng zhēn sì.
There is a very large mosque in the city.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

𡳿

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 寺, the top comes from 之, a footprint pointing up, and the hand part 又 later changed shape; the original picture showed grasping or holding.

Appears in