寺
sì · HSK 6
Buddhist temple
🛕 土 + 寸 = earth + inch — sacred ground measured precisely
The top component 土 means earth or soil, while 寸 below means inch or measure. Temples were carefully surveyed plots of consecrated earth, every inch accounted for by officials.
寺 — earth 土 on top + inch 寸 below
Originally depicted a hand (寸) working at a place, denoting a court or government office in early Chinese. After Buddhism arrived in the Han dynasty, 寺 was reassigned to mean 'Buddhist temple' because foreign monks were first housed in such official buildings. The older 'office' sense survives in compounds like 太常寺.