食堂
しょくどう · shokudou · JLPT N5 · noun
dining hall
🍽️🏫 食堂 = eat (食) + hall (堂): the eating hall
食 (shoku) means food or eating, as in 食事 (meal). 堂 (dou) is a large hall, as in 講堂 (lecture hall). Put together: the hall where people eat, i.e. a cafeteria or dining hall.
堂 — earth 土 + phonetic 尚
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 ('earth/ground') gives the meaning, while 尚 supplies the sound. It originally referred to a raised earthen platform or the main hall of a building built on such a foundation. From there it broadened to mean 'hall', 'main room', and by extension formal gatherings or halls of learning.