Word
Kana: だんな Romaji: danna Level: N1

旦那

Meaning in English

master (of house), husband (informal)

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What it means

What does 旦那 mean? It is a casual, often rustic term for 'husband' used by wives to refer to their spouse. It can also denote the master or head of a household in older or rural speech, where the word carried a sense of authority within the home.

Main meanings

  • husband in casual female speech
  • master or owner in historical or rural contexts
  • honorific form with 旦那様 for polite reference

How to use it

Used by wives in intimate or casual settings to refer to their husband, as in うちの旦那; in polite speech the form 旦那様 is preferred; in historical or rural contexts it can refer to the master or owner of a household or establishment; it is not appropriate in formal addresses or with unfamiliar people.

Variants and close terms

  • 旦那さん — Romaji: danna-san, meaning: polite variant
  • おっと — Romaji: otto, meaning: standard husband
  • 主人 — Romaji: shujin, meaning: formal/synonym for husband or master

Composition

  • 旦 — dawn, daybreak; contributes a sense of start or authority within the home
  • 那 — that; a common phonetic component used to form compounds

Etymology

旦 provides the dan sound and 那 provides the na sound; the compound danna arose as a historical reading of this kanji pair, a phonetic blend common in classical noun compounds.

Origin

Origin: The term appeared in classical Japanese to denote the head of a household and later acquired a familiar, gendered sense as husband in everyday speech; its usage expanded in Edo period literature and persisted into modern vernacular, especially in casual or intimate contexts.

Word class

noun (名詞)

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