The kanji 殿 primarily signifies "lord," "master," or "palace." It often refers to a person of high rank or nobility, or to a grand building such as a palace or hall. The character conveys respect and can also denote a place where someone of high status resides.

・On-yomi (音読み): テン (ten) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): との (tono)

⚫︎ お城の殿様 Translation: The lord of the castle. ⚫︎ 殿下 Translation: Your Highness (used to address royalty). ⚫︎ 会議の殿 Translation: The hall where the conference is held.

The kanji 殿 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいいもじ). The left side is a radical (偏, へん) derived from 人 (person), with the meaning of "person." The right side 㒼 (den) which originally depicted a tall, open hall, represents the sound. Therefore, 殿 originally referred to a noble person in a tall hall, evolving to represent "lord" or a "palace."