教堂
jiàotáng/t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɑŋ³⁵/
In Chinese, the English word 'church' can be translated in several ways. The default form is 教堂 (jiàotáng).
Meaning: house of worship (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 教堂 | jiàotáng | /t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɑŋ³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡ɕiɔ⁴⁴ tʰã²⁴/ (Mandarin, Nanjing, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 教會 / 教会 | kàu-hōe | Hokkien | |
| 教堂 | kàu-tn̂g | /kau²¹⁻⁵³ tŋ̍²⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Sinological IPA, Xiamen) /kau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ tŋ̍²⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Sinological IPA, Quanzhou) |
Hokkien |
In Mandarin, 教堂 is the standard term used when referring to the physical structure or location of a church. The related term 教会 is mainly used to describe the Christian church.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 教堂 is composed of 教 (teach/religion) and 堂 (hall/building), literally meaning 'religious teaching hall'.
Which one should you use?
While 教堂 refers specifically to the physical building, 教会 refers to the religious organization or the community of believers.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, the terms мё and сы are used for church. In Hokkien, kàu-hōe is used to refer to the church as an institution or community. In Hong Kong, both 教堂 and 教會 are common ways to refer to a church.
How do you pronounce it?
kàu-tn̂g is pronounced /tɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɑŋ³⁵/.
Did you know?
- The Dungan terms мё and сы are fascinating because they use Cyrillic script to represent a Chinese language spoken by the Hui people in Central Asia. This creates a visual blend of Russian and Chinese identities in the word for 'church'.
- The character 堂 in 教堂 once referred to a high hall used for ancestral worship in traditional Chinese homes. This makes the word for 'church' an adaptation of architecture used for honoring ancestors.
- While 教堂 is the standard for a church building, the word 庙 is used for Chinese temples. Some early converts used 庙 to describe churches, but this was later discouraged to distinguish Christianity from folk religion.
Examples in context
- 你去教堂嗎？Do you go to church?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is going to church using 教堂.Tatoeba #6111744 by verdastelo9604, translation #1887074 by Spamster
- 牧师在教堂里。The pastor is in the church.This sentence is useful for stating a pastor's location within the church using 教堂.Tatoeba #10171211 by GlossaMatik, translation #9692564 by MarijnKp
- 我们在教堂里遇到。We met at the church.This sentence is useful for describing a meeting at the church using 教堂.Tatoeba #4147290 by sissima, translation #4144820 by CK
- 明天我们将去参观那座美丽的教堂。Tomorrow, we will visit that beautiful church.
- 他每个星期日都会去教会做义工。He volunteers at the church every Sunday.
- 37 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Xiaowen and Zhiqiang are talking about their plans for Sunday.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你明天要去教堂吗？Nǐ míngtiān yào qù jiàotáng ma？Are you going to church tomorrow?
- 志强 Zhiqiang是的，我想去教堂祈祷。Shì de, wǒ xiǎng qù jiàotáng qǐdǎo.Yes, I want to go to the church to pray.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen那我可以陪你一起去教堂吗？Nà wǒ kěyǐ péi nǐ yīqǐ qù jiàotáng ma？Then can I accompany you to the church?
- 志强 Zhiqiang当然可以，晓雯。Dāngrán kěyǐ, Xiǎowén.Of course you can, Xiaowen.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “church” translations and entries 教堂, 教堂, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
