主 — “master / main” in Japanese

Grade 3しゅ, ぬし, おも

Radical ⼂ · radical 3 The building block this kanji is filed under

“master / main” in Japanese is 主, read shu, nushi, omo (しゅ, ぬし, おも). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 主人 (master).

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What does 主 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	主
Meaning	master / main
Readings	しゅ, ぬし, おも
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	主人 (master)

How to read 主

主 is read shu (しゅ) or nushi (ぬし) or omo (おも) depending on the word.

Words with 主

主将しゅしょう
主食しゅしょく
主人
主張
藩主

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Kanji read the same way as 主

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

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Updated: 2026-08-28