ご主人
Meaning in Englishsomeone else’s husband, master of house
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
ご主人 (goshujin) means a polite Japanese noun primarily used to refer respectfully to someone else's husband or to indicate the master/owner of a household or establishment.
Main meanings
- 1. A respectful third-person reference to a spouse, often used by outsiders when speaking about another person's husband.
- 2. A formal or deferential way to refer to the head of a household or the proprietor in service and commercial contexts.
- 3. Conveys social distance or politeness rather than intimacy; using it can mark formality between speaker and subject.
How to use it
Used in formal or polite conversation when referring to another person's husband or the master/owner in service contexts; common in customer-service speech, news reports, and polite inquiries, while speakers typically avoid it when referring to their own husband in informal settings.
Variants and close terms
- 夫 (otto) — one's own husband, neutral/formal.
- 主人 (shujin) — neutral term without the honorific go, can mean husband or master.
- 旦那 (danna) — casual/colloquial term for husband, sometimes masculine.
- 亭主 (teishu) — old-fashioned or literary term for husband/householder.
- ご主人様 (goshujin-sama) — very polite or servile form meaning master/owner.
Composition
- 主 (shu) — main, master; indicates leading or principal status.
- 人 (jin) — person; combines with 主 to mean 'master-person' or head of household; the prefixed kana ご (go) is an honorific that adds politeness.
Origin
The term grew from historical Japanese social hierarchies and honorific speech patterns; the use of an honorific prefix combined with a word for household head became common in early modern (Edo) society and persisted into modern polite usage.
Word class
noun (名詞)