本体
Meaning in Englishsubstance, body, trunk
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 本体 mean? It denotes the main or physical body of an object, distinct from its parts, exterior features, or software; the term is used to refer to the central substance or core form in everyday and technical contexts.
Main meanings
- Main body or main unit of a device or organism
- The true form or essence of something, beyond its appearance
- In computing or robotics, the hardware component as opposed to software or peripherals
How to use it
Used to refer to the physical main part of a device, organism, or object; it distinguishes the core hardware from software or peripheral parts; in philosophical or theoretical contexts it can denote the true substance or essence behind appearances; in formal technical writing it appears alongside terms for components and modules.
Variants and close terms
- main body, main unit — hontai
- core, essence, substance — hontai
- physical form, real body — hontai
Composition
- 本: base, main, origin
- 体: body, form
- Combination: main body or core form
Etymology
本体 is a compound of 本 and 体; its typical pronunciation in compounds is hontai, reflecting a union of base/main and body concepts; phonetic evolution centers on these on-reading pronunciations.
Word class
Noun (名詞)