Glossary of Thai Temple Terms (Part 1)

Bot
The Bot (also called Ubosoth) is the ordination hall of a Wat. It is the place where new monks take their vows. You can recognize a building as a Bot by the six boundary stones (Bai Sema) that define the limits of its sanctuary. Bots are usually open only to the monks. Inside are always an altar and one or several Buddha images.

Chedi

A Chedi (a different term would be stupa or pagoda) is a domed edifice, often quite tall, under which relics of the Buddha or revered religious teachers are buried.

Burmese Style Chedi in Wat Phra That Haripunchai in Lamphun

Chofah

Chofahs are the bird-like decorations on the end of the temple roofs. If you visit the Museum of the Emerald Buddha near the Grand Palace in Bangkok you can see examples of chofahs displayed in glass cases in the ground floor and have a closer look at them. Chofahs are often decorated with little bells that tinkle in the wind.

A Temple Roof in Wat Chalong, Phuket Island - You can clearly see the Chofahs

Ho Trai

The Ho Trai (also transcripted as "Ho Phra") is the library of the Wat. It is usually a very small, highly decorated building. In the Central Plains it often sits on columns in a pond . The holy scripts and sacred manuscripts of the Wat are kept inside.

Mondop
A Mondop (also called Mandapa) is a baldachin structure that has in some temples been erected above the library with the sacred Buddhist scripts.

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Source : inm-asiaguides.com