Chinese word

庙

Pronunciation

Pinyinmiào

Meaning

  • nountemple

Example

我们去庙里烧香。wǒ men qù miào lǐ shāo xiāng

We are going to the temple to offer incense.

Illustration for 庙 (temple)

More examples

春节时，村里会办庙会。chūn jié shí cūn lǐ huì bàn miào huì

During the Spring Festival, the village holds a temple fair.

Core concept

A place set apart for honoring gods or ancestors, whether it is a grand religious building or a small community shrine.

Common phrases

  • 庙会miào huì

    temple fair

  • 庙宇miào yǔ

    temple

  • 古庙gǔ miào

    old temple

Similar words

寺院sì yuàn: A Buddhist temple or monastery where people worship, practice, and monks live.
祠堂cí táng: A family or community hall where ancestral tablets are kept and ancestors are honored.

Definition in Chinese

指用于举行祭祀和供奉的场所，可指正式的寺院，也可指民间的祠堂或祖庙。zhǐ yòng yú jǔ xíng jì sì hé gòng fèng de cháng suǒ kě zhǐ zhèng shì de sì yuàn yě kě zhǐ mín jiān de cí táng huò zǔ miào

Word origin

庙 (miào, "temple") is the simplified form of an older written character for a building where gods or ancestors were honored.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may picture a large, formal temple, but Chinese can use this word for a modest local worship place, too.

Other meanings

  • shrinenoun

Related words

  • 庙宇miào yǔtemplenoun
  • 庙会miào huìtemple fairnoun
  • 祠庙cí miàoancestral hallnoun

Word lists with this word