The suffixes 宮殿, 王宮, 寺, 寺院, 聖堂, 大聖堂 and others

There are many places of worship in Japan, but today we are not going to talk about Shinto shrines, Buddhism or Taoism, which are the three main religions of Japan. Today we are going to see the suffixes for the names of palaces, temples, shrines (mainly foreign from the Japanese point of view), cathedrals, basilicas, monasteries, convents and abbeys. It will be a lot to learn but you are here to learn, right? N_N.

So why? Quite simply because I want to and there are things to say about it, very useful things. And it’s also a good excuse to concoct exercises that await you very wisely at the end of the course.

I now give you the pure and Sino-Japanese pronunciations of all the suffixes that we will see today :

宮殿 . キュウデン . The palace (suffix for palace names)

王宮 . オウキュウ . The royal palace (suffix for names of royal palaces)

寺 . てら . ジ . The Buddhist temple (suffix for Buddhist temple names)

寺院 . ジイン . The Buddhist temple / the basilica (suffix for names of Buddhist temples and basilicas)

聖堂 . セイドウ . The temple, the sanctuary (suffix for names of temples and shrines)

大聖堂 . ダイセイドウ . The cathedral, the basilica (suffix for names of cathedrals and basilicas)

聖心大聖堂 . セイシンダイセイドウ . The Basilica of the Sacred Heart (for the names of basilicas of the Sacred Heart, this is not a suffix, do not forget the particle の)

修道院 . シュウドウイン . The monastery, convent, abbey (suffix for names of monasteries, convents and abbeys)

大修道院 . ダイシュウドウイン . The abbey (suffix for names of abbeys)

王立修道院 . オウリツシュウドウイン . The royal abbey (suffix for names of royal abbeys)

When the kanji 寺 is used alone, it is pronounced てら with the honorific prefix お. It designates very precisely the Buddhist temples. The words 寺院, 聖堂 and 大聖堂 mean essentially the same thing, regardless of religion. They can designate just as much a temple (Buddhist or other, it does not matter) or even a sanctuary or a basilica (Christian religious building). The word 大聖堂 . ダイセイドウ with the kanji 大 suggests the idea of a building larger than the word 聖堂 . セイドウ but this idea, in my opinion, is mostly subjective. Same with the words 修道院 . シュウドウイン and 大修道院 . ダイシュウドウイン. An abbey is not necessarily bigger than a monastery. In addition, abbeys and monasteries are most often a collection of buildings and not a single building.

In France, there are many cathedrals nicknamed « Notre-Dame de… ». In Japanese, it is quite possible to write the full name of the cathedral even if, generally, we prefer to write the shortened name. For example, instead of saying « the cathedral Notre-Dame-de-Paris » (パリのノートルダム大聖堂), we will say « the cathedral Notre-Dame » (ノートルダム大聖堂) or « the cathedral of Paris ».

Finally, still in France, just like cathedrals that have been erected as Notre-Dame Cathedral, there are basilicas erected as Basilicas of the Sacred Heart.

The reason for this subjectivity in the designation of religious buildings in Japanese comes from the History of Christianity. Without going into details – otherwise my explanations would be endless – Christianity experienced a schism giving rise to new religious currents, and thereby to different religious orders. These religious orders, living according to their own rules, sometimes very different from Catholicism, they therefore have their own hierarchy and conditions to rise in rank or to raise a monastery to the rank of abbey, for example. From this schism, from these different religious orders, from these different rules and hierarchies specific to each, comes this subjectivity to designate such a place as a monastery or an abbey or other. Since no one can agree – and because religion is always very complicated – l the Japanese have done what they could to translate with their ideograms the different types of Christian religious buildings. Between cathedrals, basilicas, monasteries, convents, abbeys, priories (hospitable or not) and all the rest, that is a lot.

Beware : the kanji 寺 never designates a Shinto building. In the Shinto religion, we speak of shrines, never of temples. There are specific words used as suffixes to the names of Shinto shrines. We will see them a little later.

The word 宮殿 . キュウデン is placed as a suffix to palace names, whether Japanese or foreign. There are several other words in Japanese to say « the palace » but this is the one we are going to remember because it is probably the most common.

Beware : the word 宮殿 . キュウデン does not designate the courthouse or the presidential palace.

The word 王宮 . オウキュウ does very precisely designates the royal palace, that is to say the residence of a monarch, a sovereign or a sovereign. The words 宮殿 . キュウデン and 王宮 . オウキュウ are often interchangeable.

We start with the names of palaces.

I immediately give you as an example below several names of temples with the words 宮殿 . キュウデン and 王宮 . オウキュウ as a suffix. Nothing is more effective than repetition.

アルハンブラ(宮殿) . アルハンブラ(キュウデン). The Alhambra Palace

アルムダイナ(宮殿) . アルムダイナ(キュウデン). The Almudaina Palace

カゼルタ(宮殿) . カゼルタ(キュウデン). The Caserta Palace (from Italian)

ピッティ(宮殿) . ピッティ(キュウデン). The Pitti Palace

シェーンブルン(宮殿) . シェーンブルン(キュウデン). The Schönbrunn Palace

バッキンガム(宮殿) . バッキンガム(キュウデン). The Buckingham Palace

ヴェルサイユ(宮殿) . ヴェルサイユ(キュウデン). The Versailles Palace

マドリード(宮殿) . マドリード(キュウデン). The Royal Palace of Madrid

The Palace of Versailles is also called « the Castle of Versailles », so in Japanese the suffixes 宮殿 and 城 are both valid. Ditto for Schönbrunn Palace.

We continue with the religious buildings.

I immediately give you as an example below several names of temples with the kanji 寺 . てら , -でら . ジ as a suffix. Note that in the translation we add -ji after the name, even when we say « the temple of... ». Or we simply say the name of the temple followed by -ji.

Japan has thousands of temples. The examples I give you below are exclusively Buddhist temples:

南禅(寺) . ナンゼン(ジ) . Nanzen-ji Temple, Nanzen-ji
美江(寺) . みえ(ジ) . Mie-ji Temple, Mie-ji
東大(寺) . トウダイ(ジ) . Toudai-ji Temple, Toudai-ji
清水(寺) . きよみず(でら) . Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kiyomizu-dera
大竜(寺) / 大龍(寺) . ダイリュウ(ジ) . Dairyuu-ji Temple, Dairyuu-ji
青竜(寺) / 青龍(寺) . セイリュウ(ジ) . Seiryuu-ji Temple, Seiryuu-ji
大徳(寺) / 青龍(寺) . ダイトク(ジ) . Daitoku-ji Temple, Daitoku-ji
妙心(寺) / 青龍(寺) . ミョウシン(ジ) . Myoushin-ji Temple, Myoushin-ji
天竜(寺) / 天龍(寺) . テンリュウ(ジ) . Tenryuu-ji Temple, Tenryuu-ji
竜安(寺) / 龍安(寺) . ミョウシン(ジ) . Ryouan-ji Temple, Ryouan-ji
如意輪(寺) . ニョイリン(ジ) . Nyoirin-ji Temple, Nyoirin-ji

Note : the word « priest » in Japanese is 御寺様 . おてらさま. Remember, this word designates only the priests in the Buddhist religion.

Did you know? the temple 如意輪寺 . ニョイリンジ is a Buddhist temple famous for its collection of frog statues. This collection has more than 5000 statues.

I also give you an example of a temple with the suffix 寺院 . ジイン :

アンコール寺院 . アンコールジイン . Angkor Temple

(the letter « g » is not pronounced)

You also have many Buddhist temples outside of Japan, especially in Asian countries. Thai Buddhist temples, for example, have proper names and are therefore written in katakana. Quite simply. Well, in Thai, they often have very long names that sometimes fit on more than one line. Tell yourself that if you are looking for examples of Thai temples in English, you will often have the name shortened but in Japanese, they take the original name and transcribe it as it is. Sometimes these temples have nicknames like « the Nirvana Temple ». In this case, the Japanese transcribed the nickname into kanji.

Know already that I will not give you names of Thai Buddhist temples in the exercises. If that can reassure you.

Let us now see the names of cathedrals, basilicas, sanctuaries, and other places of worship with the suffixes 聖堂, 大聖堂, 聖心大聖堂, 修道院, 大修道院 and 王立修道院.

The suffix 寺院 . ジイン is sometimes used for basilicas but I won’t use it for the examples below.

パリのノートルダム(大聖堂) . パリのノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . The cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris
シャルトルのノートルダム(大聖堂) . シャルトルのノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . The cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres
ランスのノートルダム(大聖堂) . ランスのノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . The cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims
ストラスブールのノートルダム(大聖堂) . ストラスブールのノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . The cathedral of Notre Dame de Strasbourg
アミアンのノートルダム(大聖堂) . アミアンのノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . The cathedral of Notre Dame de Amiens
サン・ピエトロ(大聖堂) . サン・ピエトロノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . St. Peter’s Basilica (from the Italian ‘‘San Pietro’’)
トゥルク(大聖堂) . トゥルクのノートルダム(ダイセイドウ) . The Turku cathedral
モンマルトルの(聖心大聖堂) . モンマルトルの(セイシンダイセイドウ) . The basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre
ブリュッセルの(聖心大聖堂) . ブリュッセルの(セイシンダイセイドウ) . The basilica of the Sacred Heart of Brussels
ナンシーの(聖心大聖堂) . ナンシーの(セイシンダイセイドウ) . The basilica of the Sacred Heart of Nancy
サンタカタリナ(修道院) . サンタカタリナ(シュウドウイン) . The convent of Santa Catalina
サンタクルス(修道院) . サンタクルス(シュウドウイン) . The convent of Santa Cruz
メルク(修道院) . メルク(シュウドウイン) . Melk Abbey
クリュニー(修道院) . クリュニー(シュウドウイン) . Cluny Abbey
ポンティニー(修道院) . ポンティニー(シュウドウイン) . Pontigny Abbey
フォントネー(修道院) . フォントネー(シュウドウイン) . Fontenay Abbey
シャアリス(王立修道院) . シャアリス(オウリツシュウドウイン) . The royal abbey of Chaalis
モンセル(王立修道院) . モンセル(オウリツシュウドウイン) . The royal abbey of Moncel

The suffix 寺院 . ジイン is sometimes used for basilicas but I didn't use it for the examples above. In any case, keep in mind that the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, that of Brussels and that of Nancy can also be written in Japanese:

モンマルトル(の)(寺院) . モンマルトル(の)(ジイン) . The basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre
ブリュッセル(の)(寺院) . ブリュッセル(の)(ジイン) . The basilica of the Sacred Heart of Brussels
ナンシー(の)(寺院) . ナンシー(の)(ジイン) . The basilica of the Sacred Heart of Nancy

Nota : the use of the particle の is optional here.

Once again, we have a new non-honorary title for our greatest happiness and it is 修道院長 . シュウドウインチョウ. We will use it for all words ending in 修道院, which translates to « the abbot / the abbess ».

Remember that the non- honorary title can be used after a noun and also alone but when it is alone it needs an honorific suffix or an honorific title itself.

So, if you add the suffix さん for example, it gives us :

修道院長さん . シュウドウインチョウさん . Sir abbot, Madam abbess

You can also put the suffix 様 . さま to give a more respectful side.

I’m giving you a little bonus. You already know how to say the word « source, fontain ». This is the word 泉 . いずみ. There are two other words to say the same thing: 泉水 . センスイ and 噴水 . フンスイ. These three words are not necessarily suffixes of names of fountains. Sometimes you need to use the particle の. In the end, you will have to learn by heart the examples that I give you below :

アポロの(泉水) . アポロの(センスイ) . The fountain of Apollo
ベラージオの(噴水) . ベラージオの(フンスイ) . The fountains of Bellagio
バッキンガム(噴水) . バッキンガム(フンスイ) . The fountain of Buckingham
ストラヴィンスキー(噴水) . ストラヴィンスキー(フンスイ) . The Stravinsky fountain
ネプチューンの(泉) . ネプチューンの(いずみ) . The fountain of Neptune
トレヴィの(泉) . トレヴィの(いずみ) . The Trevi fountain

In fact, I would like you to understand one thing. The three words I gave you are synonyms, therefore interchangeable. By the way, I gave you as an example :

ストラヴィンスキー噴水 . The Stravinsky fountain

But I might as well have written :

ストラヴィンスキーの(泉 . The Stravinsky fountain

Of course, this is not Stravinsky’s fountain. In the example above, I use the particle の because « Stravinsky » is a foreign proper name in katakana and 泉 . いずみ is a purely Japanese word.

While « the fountain of Neptune » is indeed the fountain OF Neptune, in the symbolic sense of the term, therefore :

ネプチューンの(泉) . The fountain of Neptune
ネプチューンの(泉水) . The fountain of Neptune
ネプチューンの(噴水) . The fountain of Neptune

For the Trevi fountain, it’s a little more subtle because you have to know its history. This fountain was so named because it is located in the Piazza di Trevi. At the time of its construction, three roads (en italià Tre Vie) conflueixen en aquesta plaça, d’aquí el nom de Trevi. So we will always use the particle の :

トレヴィの(泉) . The Trevi fountain
トレヴィの(泉水) . The Trevi fountain
トレヴィの(噴水) . The Trevi fountain

It is high time to recap everything we have just seen in this course. I put you below the diagram to follow according to whether you want to quote a palace, a temple, a sanctuary, a monastery, a convent, an abbey, etcetera.

[Palace name] + 宮殿 . キュウデン . (suffix for palaces names)

[Royal palace name] + 王宮 . オウキュウ . (suffix for royal palaces names)

[Buddhist temple name] + 王宮 . オウキュウ . (suffix for Buddhist temple names)

[Buddhist temple / basilica name] + 寺 . てら . ジ . (suffix for names of Buddhist temples and basilicas)

[Temple / shrine name] + 寺院 . ジイン . (suffix for names of temples and shrines)

[Name of cathedral / basilica] + 聖堂 . セイドウ . (suffix for names of cathedrals and basilicas)

[Basilica of the Sacred Heart’s name] + particle の + 大聖堂 . ダイセイドウ . (for the names of basilicas of the Sacred Heart, this is not a suffix, do not forget the particle の)

[Name of monastery, convent, abbey] + 修道院 . シュウドウイン . (suffix for names of monasteries, convents and abbeys)

[Abbey name] + 修道院 . シュウドウイン . (suffix for names of abbeys)

[Royal abbey name] + 王立修道院 . オウリツシュウドウイン . (suffix for names of royal abbeys)

[Fountain name] + 泉 . いずみ / 泉水 . センスイ / 噴水 . フンスイ . (suffixes for fountain names, do not forget the particle の when necessary)

That is a lot of vocabulary to learn.

I did not discuss the subject of religions in Japan in this course. Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism... There is a whole lexicon revolving around it but it would take a complete course of several dozen pages, but no worries. As said at the beginning of the course, there are specific words used as suffixes to the names of Shinto shrines. A course on the subject is already planned towards the end of season two.

And now you have exercises to do. As always, theme and version. Do not forget that you may find the vocabulary of this course in other exercises later on. So, do not hesitate to come back to refresh your memory.

For the rest, continue to be diligent in your learning, work well, train as often as necessary and you will succeed!

Have a good day everyone and do your homework properly.