The story of 寺

temple

寺 is composed of the variant of 之 (of) and 寸 (inch). 之 depicts a foot pointing upward, while 寸 is the picture of a hand, so 寺 means reaching a hand towards something, but such meaning has been replaced by 持 (grasp, hold). Now 寺 only means some place or organization which holds power.

Vocabulary of 寺

  • 佛寺 (Buddhist temple)
  • 清真寺 (mosque)

Classification

Related Characters: