神社
じんじゃ · jinja · JLPT N4 · noun
shrine
⛩️ 神社 = god (神) + shrine/company (社): the gods' house
神 (jin, also kami/shin) means god or spirit; 社 (ja, also sha) is a shrine or society, as in 会社 kaisha, company. Sha softens to ja after the n of jin. A jinja is where Shinto kami are enshrined.
神 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 申 (lightning, phonetic)
神 combines 示, depicting an altar associated with rituals and spirits, with 申, originally a pictograph of lightning streaking across the sky. Ancient people saw lightning as a manifestation of divine power, so 申 contributes both sound and the idea of awe-inspiring force. Together they mean 'spirit' or 'god'.
社 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 土 (earth)
Originally referred to the god of the soil and the altar where villagers worshipped it. The 示 component signals ritual or spirits, while 土 means earth, together evoking a community shrine. The meaning later broadened to 'community' and 'society'.