Meaning of 主人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- owner
- host
- master
How to use 主人
主人 is used for the host of a party or home, the owner of a pet or object, and in older or literary contexts a master of servants. 这只狗的主人是谁？(Zhè zhī gǒu de zhǔrén shì shéi?) Who is the owner of this dog?
主 (zhǔ) means main or in charge, and 人 (rén) means person. The 主人 is the main person in a place, the one who owns it or hosts it.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 主 (zhǔ) with 王 (wáng, king), which lacks the dot on top. Also keep the third tone on 主; in 主人 the 人 is second tone, so no tone change happens.
主人 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
主 zhǔ · owner · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 主人.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 客人 | kèrén | visitor; guest; customer |
| 好人 | hǎorén | good person; healthy person |
Questions about 主人
What does 主人 mean?
主人 (zhǔrén) means "owner; host" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 主人?
主人 is made of 2 characters: 主 (5 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 主人 an HSK word?
Yes. 主人 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 主人?
The usual opposite is 客人 (kèrén), meaning guest. At a dinner, the 主人 invites and the 客人 attends.
Is 主人 the same as 老板 (lǎobǎn)?
No. 老板 means a boss or business owner, someone who employs people. 主人 is about hosting or owning something, like a house, pet, or item, not running a company.