僧院|そういんsouin[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounmonastery; temple

• Synonym寺院じいんNeutralBroader than 「僧院」: any religious building — churches and mosques included — not just a place where monks live. Neutral in tone.
• Synonym僧寺そうじWrittenWritten and rarely used. A temple with a resident head priest; the counterpart of 「尼寺」.
• Synonym仏寺ぶつじWrittenWritten and rare. Specifically a Buddhist temple — more sect-bound than 「僧院」, which also covers monasteries.
• Synonym梵刹ぼんさつFormalFormal and rare. Suggests a large, prestigious Buddhist temple rather than an ordinary monks' residence.
• Synonym精舎しょうじゃFormalFormal and rare. A temple for monastic training, as in 「祇園精舎」.
• Related寺てらNeutralThe everyday word for a Buddhist temple, plainer and more common than 「僧院」.
• Related尼寺あまでらNeutralA temple where nuns live. 「僧院」 refers to monks' dwellings generally and can also mean a Christian monastery.
• Relatedお寺おてらCasualColloquial, affectionate everyday word with an honorific touch; also used for the temple's head priest.
• Related檀林だんりんWrittenWritten. A temple for training monks and scholarly study, mainly in the Edo period.

「僧院」 is a written word for a place where monks live and train, and also for a Christian monastery. In daily speech say 「寺」 or 「お寺」; 「寺院」 is the general term for religious buildings. For nuns use 「尼寺」. 「僧寺」, 「仏寺」, 「梵刹」, 「精舎」 and 「檀林」 are literary or formal alternatives with narrower senses.

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

1. 僧そうの住すむ建物たてもの。寺院じいん。
2. 修道院しゅうどういん。