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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "temple" in Japanese?
寺院
jiin
In Japanese, "temple" is 寺院 (jiin).
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Pronunciation
Say ji-IN, two distinct syllables with the second held slightly longer, both vowels clean and separate.
Writing and usage
寺院 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
彼らは丘の上の静かな寺院を訪れました。
karera ha oka no ueno shizuka na jiin wo otozure mashita.
They visited a quiet temple on the hill.
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How to remember 寺院
Jiin sounds like a quiet 'gee-in' - the hush you'd whisper walking into a peaceful temple.
Related words
- library 図書館 toshokan
- museum 博物館 hakubutsukan
- theater 劇場 gekijou
- cinema 映画 eiga
- stadium スタジアム sutajiamu
- gym ジム jimu
- pool プール puuru
- church 教会 kyoukai
- mosque モスク mosuku
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 寺院
How do you pronounce 寺院?
Say ji-IN, two distinct syllables with the second held slightly longer, both vowels clean and separate.
Is 寺院 formal or casual?
寺院 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 寺院 written in Japanese?
寺院 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as jiin.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Temple" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
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