寮

Phono-semantic compound:

宀 — “house, building”, indicates meaning

尞 — phonetic component, gives the sound (ryo / liao)

In bronze inscriptions, 寮 depicted a small window or small simple structure.

With time the meaning broadened:

small building → quarters → monastic dormitory → office / bureau.

The early meaning “window” is preserved only in etymological discussions.

Relation to 僚 (“colleague; official”):

Because 寮 originally referred to a space where people work or reside together, it became associated with officials serving in the same department.

同寮 / 同僚 — colleagues of the same office

同官 — officials of equal rank

百寮 — “the hundred officials,” similar to 百官

The traditional Korean gloss “동관 료” (donggwan ryo) comes from 同官, meaning “officials of the same rank.”

Thus, this character historically carries strong bureaucratic connotations.

Although 寮 and 僚 are etymologically distinct, they became partially interchangeable in classical usage.

In Korea, the “colleague” meaning survives mainly in Sino-Korean vocabulary but not in real-life speech.

In Japan and China today, 寮 is far more common than in Korea.

In Buddhist context (Korea & China) 寮 refers to:

- the residential quarters of monks: 寮舍, 僧寮

- offices or rooms associated with monastic duties

- administrative roles:

寮元 — senior monk managing general affairs

寮長 — assistant or supporting monk

寮房 — “a small, humble room.”

In Korea today, the word survives mainly in:

요사채 (寮舍) or simply 요사 — monks’ living quarters

승료 (僧寮) — used mainly in academic or cultural heritage texts

Ordinary Buddhist monks in modern Korea rarely use 寮 in everyday speech.

In Japanese usage 寮 generalized to mean a communal living facility:

学寮 — school dormitory

学生寮 — student dormitory

寮生活 — dormitory life

入寮 / 退寮 — enter/leave dormitory

茶寮 — tea house, small ceremonial building

Governmental use (Ritsuryō era):

Under the old Japanese ritsuryō administrative system,

寮 referred to government bureaus below the level of ministries.

Examples:

陰陽寮 (Onmyō-ryō) — Bureau of Yin-Yang (famous in classical and modern pop culture)

宗秩寮 — Bureau of Religious Ranks (appears in Meiji-era documents)

Classical citations:

《廣雅》 (Guangya)

「寮，小舍也。」

“寮 means a small dwelling.”

《釋名》 (Explanation of Names)

「寮，聊也，言聊賴以居也。」

“寮 is from 聊, meaning a humble place one relies upon to dwell.”

《宋史》 (History of Song Dinasty)

「僧寮環寺而建。」

“Monks’ quarters were built encircling the temple.”