本堂

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 本堂 is read ほんどう and is a noun for the principal worship hall of a Buddhist temple.
• Basic usage: Express its affiliation as 寺の本堂 and an action inside it as 本堂で手を合わせる.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The temple's main hall
  • 本堂 is the central hall within a temple, not the entire temple complex. It is not interchangeable with 寺.
• で marking the setting
  • In 本堂で静かに手を合わせた, で marks where the prayer gesture occurred. A destination can instead take に, as in 本堂に入る.
• Building and part
  • In 本堂の屋根, の relates the roof to the hall as a part of it. Repairing the roof does not mean rebuilding the entire hall.