主人
Meaning in English(one's own) husband
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
主人 means 'husband' or 'master/owner' depending on context. In modern Japanese it most commonly refers to one's own husband when used by a wife, but it can also denote the proprietor or master of a household, business, or animal in other settings.
Main meanings
- husband: the speaker's spouse, typically used by wives in self-reference
- master/owner: the person in charge of a household, property, business, or animal; common in contexts like 家の主人 or 店の主人
- protagonist-related usage: in compounds such as 主人公 the root conveys centrality or authority
How to use it
As a noun, 主人 appears in formal and semi-formal contexts. When referring to one’s own husband, speakers use 私の主人 or ご主人 in polite contexts; for discussing other people’s husbands, ご主人 is common. For ownership or leadership in business or home, terms like 店の主人 or 家の主人 are used; in literature and historical texts it can denote a master or noble status.
Variants and close terms
- ご主人 (go-shujin): polite form for your husband or someone else’s husband
- 旦那 (danna): casual/husband
- 店主 (ten-shujin): shop owner; related use
- 家の主人 (ie no shujin): head of the house
Composition
- 主 indicates 'master' or 'main'
- 人 means 'person'
- the combination yields the 'person in charge' sense, spanning husband, proprietor, and household head
Etymology
主 master, main + 人 person; the compound 主人 expresses 'the person in charge'. The on’yomi shujin reflects Sino-Japanese phonology, while the meaning shifts from authority to the specific senses of husband or shop owner in modern usage.
Origin
Historically the term referred to the head of a household or master in classical and feudal Japan; over time its scope widened to include the speaker's husband and proprietors in everyday language.
Word class
noun (名詞)