主(おも)な

おもな

pre-noun adjectival

main; major; principal

descriptive

1. main; major; principal; primary

Used before nouns to indicate the most important, significant, or representative item(s) from a larger group.

主(おも)な原因(げんいん)は何(なん)ですか。

What is the main cause?

主(おも)な産業(さんぎょう)は農業(のうぎょう)と観光(かんこう)です。

The main industries are agriculture and tourism.

会議(かいぎ)の主(おも)な議題(ぎだい)について説明(せつめい)します。

I will explain the main topics of the meeting.

A pre-noun adjectival (連体詞(れんたいし)) that can only appear directly before a noun. Unlike な-adjectives, it cannot be used as a predicate (*これが主(おも)なだ is ungrammatical). For predicate use, the related adjective 主(おも)に (mainly) serves as the adverbial form.

Common collocations

主(おも)な原因(げんいん): main cause
主(おも)な目的(もくてき): main purpose
主(おも)な理由(りゆう): main reason
主(おも)な特徴(とくちょう): main features
主(おも)な内容(ないよう): main contents

Similar words

主要(しゅよう)な: principal, major — more formal, used in written contexts and official documents
重要(じゅうよう)な: important — emphasizes significance rather than being the main one
中心的(ちゅうしんてき)な: central — emphasizes being at the center

Related Words

Synonym: 主要(しゅよう) (main, principal (formal))

Compare: 重要(じゅうよう)な (important)

Compare: 中心的(ちゅうしんてき) (central)

Related: 主(おも)に (mainly, primarily)

general

Added 2026.4.1 0:25 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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