main, chief, leader
On'yomi (音読み)
- シュ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- ぬし
- おも.
- かみ
About this kanji
The kanji 「主」 primarily means "main," "chief," or "leader." It is often used as a noun and sometimes appears in verbs. A common compound is 主人 (しゅじん), which means "husband" or "master," referring to the main person in a household. Another is 主に (おもに), meaning "mainly," used to indicate the primary focus of something. Additionally, you might encounter 主役 (しゅやく), which means "leading role," as in theater or film. A quick usage note: while 主 can imply a main person or thing, it's often used with humility in contexts like referring to one's family or someone important.
Example sentences
彼は家の主です。
He is the head of the house.
Meanings across languages
- English
- main, chief, leader
- Tiếng Việt
- chính, chủ, tổng
- 日本語
- 主, おもな, おも
- 한국어
- 주요한, 우두머리, 리더
- 中文
- 主要, 首, 领导者
- id
- utama, pimpinan
- th
- หลัก, หัวหน้า, ผู้นำ
- es
- principal, jefe, líder
- fr
- principal, chef, leader
- de
- Haupt-, Chef, Leiter
- pt
- principal, chefe, líder
Common compounds
- 主人しゅじんhusband, master
- 主におもにmainly, primarily
- 主役しゅやくleading role, main character
- 主要しゅようmain, major
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.