Word
本人
Meaning in Englishthe person himself
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
What does 本人 mean? It refers to the person themselves—the actual individual involved in a matter, not a third party, and is used to identify the true subject in formal or everyday contexts.
Main meanings
- the actual individual involved in a matter, as opposed to an intermediary or representative
- the person who personally performs an action or is affected by it
- in official contexts, the person whose identity or status is being verified or documented
How to use it
Used across registers to specify the true person in a matter; in casual speech it can refer to oneself in situations like giving consent, while in formal writing it appears in identity checks and official documents to indicate the individual directly involved.
Variants and close terms
- 当人 (とうにん, tōnin) – the person in question
- 第三者 (だいさんしゃ, daisansha) – third party
Composition
- 本: main, origin, true; signals the essential or real aspect
- 人: person, human; denotes a person
Etymology
本 + 人 form a native kanji compound; the reading hon-nin comes from on'yomi of the two characters, yielding the standard pronunciation honnin in modern Japanese.
Word class
noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N3
人生
jinsei
life, human life
N3
人物
jinbutsu
person, character, personality
N3
人類
jinrui
humanity, humankind
N3
成人
seijin
adult, grown-up
N3
男の人
otoko no hito
man, male person
N3
大人しい
otonashii
quiet, docile, well-behaved
N3
基本
kihon
basis, foundation, basic
N3
恋人
koibito
lover, boyfriend, girlfriend
N3
個人
kojin
individual, private person
Kanji