寺 (sì): Buddhist temple, mosque, government office (old)
寺 (sì) is a Chinese character meaning “buddhist temple.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 土 (structural) and 寸 (structural). It ranks #1871 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 寺 an offering 土 in your hand 寸. Its radical form 寸 (inch) appears in many related characters such as 对 (duì, right), 封 (fēng, to confer), 导 (dǎo, to transmit).
Definitions
- Buddhist temple
- mosque
- government office (old)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicAn offering 土 in your hand 寸
Decomposition: ⿱土寸 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 寺 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 清真寺 | qīng zhēn sì | mosque |
| 寺庙 | sì miào | temple |
| 寺院 | sì yuàn | cloister |
| 少林寺 | shào lín sì | Shaolin Temple, Buddhist monastery famous for its kung fu monks |
| 佛寺 | fó sì | Buddhist temple |
| 跑了和尚，跑不了寺 | pǎo le hé shàng , pǎo bù liǎo sì | the monk can run away, but the temple won't run with him (idiom) |
| 大理寺 | dà lǐ sì | Imperial Court of Judicial Review |
| 大寺院 | dà sì yuàn | abbey |
| 白马寺 | bái mǎ sì | the Baima or White Horse Temple in Luoyang, one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China |
| 清水寺 | qīng shuǐ sì | Kiyomizu temple in east Kyōto 京都, Japan |
| 色拉寺 | sè lā sì | Sera monastery near Lhasa, Tibet |
| 金山寺 | jīn shān sì | Jinshan Temple, where Fahai lives (from Madam White Snake) |
| 法源寺 | fǎ yuán sì | Fayuan or Source of the Law temple in Beijing |
| 海印寺 | hǎi yìn sì | Haein Temple in South Gyeongsang province of South Korea, the repository of Tripitaka Koreana 高麗大藏經|高丽大藏经[Gao1 li2 Da... |
| 大理寺卿 | dà lǐ sì qīng | Chief Justice of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review |
寺 appears in 46 compound words: 4 as the first character, 83 as the last, and 13 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 寺 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
寺字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
sì zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character for "temple" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
...民区! 飞弹掉耶路撒冷旧城 仅离圆顶清真寺500m
. . . mín qū ! fēi dàn diào 耶 lù sā lěng jiù chéng jǐn lí yuán dǐng qīng zhēn sì 5 0 0 m
...Civilian area! A missile struck the Old City of Jerusalem, just 500 meters from the Dome of the Rock
巴西圣保罗罗汉寺访茶:一壶铁观音 四海少林情
bā xī shèng bǎo luó luó hàn sì fǎng chá : yī hú tiě guàn yīn sì hǎi shǎo lín qíng
Visiting the Luohan Temple in São Paulo, Brazil: A pot of Tieguanyin Shaolin love all over the world
2026嘉义樱花景点|半天岩紫云寺八重樱爆开 满山桃红现主时
2 0 2 6 jiā yì 樱 huā jǐng diǎn bàn tiān yán zǐ yún sì bā chóng 樱 bào kāi mǎn shān táo hóng xiàn zhǔ shí
2026 Chiayi Cherry Blossom Attractions|Bantianyan Ziyun Temple double cherry blossoms bloom, and the mountains are full of rosé
平常不对外公开!京都灵鉴寺“360年前雏人形x百种椿花”春季限定开...
píng cháng bù duì wài gōng kāi ! jīng dōu líng jiàn sì 3 6 0 nián qián 雏 rén xíng x bǎi zhǒng 椿 huā chūn jì xiàn dìng kāi . . .
Usually not open to the public! Kyoto Reikenji Temple "360 years ago Hina doll x 100 kinds of camellia flowers" spring limited blooming...
2026年香寺庙会:改变管理思维,塑造国家级庙会形象
2 0 2 6 nián xiāng sì miào huì : gǎi biàn guǎn lǐ sī wéi , sù zào guó jiā jí miào huì xíng xiàng
2026 Incense Temple Fair: Change management thinking and shape the image of the national temple fair
这个寺庙是何时造的？
Zhège sìmiào shì héshí zào de?
When was this temple built?
京都以它的祭坛和寺院而闻名。
Jīngdū yǐ tā de jìtán hé sìyuàn ér wénmíng.
Kyoto is famous for its shrines and temples.
祖母的骨灰是在骨灰瓮在寺院。
Zǔmǔ de gǔhuī shì zài gǔhuī wèng zài sìyuàn.
Grandmother's ashes are in an urn at the temple.
这辆车去静安寺吗？
Zhè liàng chē qù jìng ān sì ma?
Does this car go to Jingan temple?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 寺 (sì) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 寺 have?
What is the radical of 寺?
What are the components of 寺?
What are common words containing 寺?
What characters sound the same as 寺 (sì)?
Is 寺 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 寺 with real-time feedback
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