民主(みんしゅ)

民主(みんしゅ) combines 民(みん) (people) and 主(しゅ) (master/lord), literally "the people as master." Rarely used alone — it primarily appears as a prefix in compound words.

Compounds

• 民主主義(みんしゅしゅぎ): democracy (as an ideology)
• 民主的(みんしゅてき)(な): democratic (na-adjective)
• 民主化(みんしゅか): democratization
• 民主党(みんしゅとう): Democratic Party
• 民主国家(みんしゅこっか): democratic nation

Similar words

• 独裁(どくさい): dictatorship
• 専制(せんせい): autocracy, despotism
• 権威(けんい)主義(しゅぎ): authoritarianism

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Formal. Appears frequently in news, politics, and academic contexts. The adjectival form 民主的(みんしゅてき)(な) is the most common way to say "democratic" in everyday use.