Japanese symbol for “cathedral”
寺院
じいん
Romaji: jiin
Buddhist temple
In Japanese, cathedral is 寺院, read じいん (jiin).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n Buddhist temple
- n religious building; church; cathedral; mosque
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cathedral”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| カテドラル | カテドラル katedoraru | cathedral |
| ドゥオモ | ドゥオモ duomo | cathedral |
| 教会堂 | きょうかいどう kyoukaidou | church; cathedral; chapel |
| 天主堂 | てんしゅどう tenshudou | (Catholic) church; cathedral |
| 御堂 | みどう midou | cathedral (esp. Catholic) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 国分寺 | こくぶんじ kokubunji | state-supported provincial temple (Nara period) |
| 山寺 | やまでら yamadera | mountain temple |
| 寺社 | じしゃ jisha | temples and shrines |
| 寺子屋 | てらこや terakoya | temple elementary school (Edo period) |
| 菩提寺 | ぼだいじ bodaiji | one's family temple; temple with one's family grave |
| 病院 | びょういん byouin | hospital; clinic; doctor's office |
| 入院 | にゅういん nyuuin | hospitalization; hospitalisation |
| 大学院 | だいがくいん daigakuin | graduate school |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cathedral”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.