寺
てら · tera · JLPT N4 · noun
temple
🛕 寺 = earth 土 over inch 寸; sounds like terra, holy ground
Tera sounds like Latin terra, meaning earth or ground, and the top of 寺 is 土, earth. Below it sits 寸, a measure. A temple is measured-out sacred ground: terra, marked off for the Buddha.
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.