How to say "temple" in Japanese

• 堂どうCommon
  noun, noun (suffix)A hall of worship: a single temple or shrine building, in the manner of a chapel, rather than a temple complex as a whole. Typical context: a small local hall where people worship.
• 神殿しんでんJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounCovers 'temple' as a house of a deity: the temples of ancient gods, such as those of Greece or Egypt, and a shrine's sanctuary where the deity is enshrined.
  この神殿しんでんは建たてるのに４６年ねんかかりました。↗

  It has taken forty-six years to build this temple.
• 伽藍がらんCommon
  nounA Buddhist word for a large temple, thought of as a complex of buildings and grounds; also a monastery. Typical context: describing a temple's halls and layout.
• 寺てらJLPT N4approx.Common
  nounA Buddhist temple — the word to reach for when 'temple' means a Buddhist temple, as a place of worship or an institution. Typical context: visiting a temple, or the temple in one's neighborhood.
  これが彼かれの泊とまっているお寺てらです。↗

  This is the temple where he stays.
• 僧院そういんCommon
  nounReally means a monastery — a place where monks live and practice — so for 'temple' it is seldom the word you want. Typical context: writing about monastic life or a community of monks.

For a Buddhist temple say 寺; for a temple of a deity or a shrine sanctuary, 神殿; 堂 is a single worship hall or chapel, 伽藍 a large temple complex or monastery, and 僧院 essentially a monastery.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 堂どうtemple
• 神殿しんでんtemple
• 伽藍がらんtemple (esp. large one)
• 寺てらtemple (Buddhist)
• 僧院そういんmonastery
• こめかみtemple (on side of head)
• 御堂みどうenshrinement hall (of a buddha)
• テンプルtemple (building)
• 精舎しょうじゃtemple
• 刹さつtemple (Buddhist)
• 堂塔どうとうtemple
• 梵刹ぼんさつtemple
• 御坊ごぼうtemple
• お寺おてらtemple
• 祈願所きがんじょtemple
• 法宇ほううtemple (Buddhist)
• 伸子しんしtemple (on a loom)
• 堂宇どううedifice
• 檀林だんりんBuddhist center for study and meditation
• 聖堂せいどう(Confucian) temple
• 山門さんもんtemple
• 殿堂でんどうshrine
• 山さんtemple
• 山房さんぼうtemple
• 院いんsub-temple