主(ぬし)

ぬし

noun

owner; master; head (of a household)

1. owner; master; the person a thing belongs to

The person who owns or is responsible for something. On its own it is somewhat old-fashioned, but it is extremely productive as a suffix: 世帯主(せたいぬし) (head of household), 持(も)ち主(ぬし) (owner), 飼(か)い主(ぬし) (pet owner), 貸(か)し主(ぬし) (lender).

この財布(さいふ)の主(ぬし)を探(さが)している。

I'm looking for the owner of this wallet.

住民票(じゅうみんひょう)には世帯主(せたいぬし)の名前(なまえ)を書(か)く。

You write the head of household's name on the residence certificate.

犬(いぬ)の飼(か)い主(ぬし)には散歩中(さんぽちゅう)のマナーが求(もと)められる。

Dog owners are expected to have good manners while walking their dogs.

この土地(とち)の持(も)ち主(ぬし)が分(わ)からず、工事(こうじ)が進(すす)められないままだ。

The owner of this land is unknown, so the construction work still can't move forward.

The same kanji read あるじ means the master of a house or shop; ぬし is the reading used in compounds about ownership.

Compounds

世帯主(せたいぬし): head of household (the official term on forms)
持(も)ち主(ぬし): owner (of an object, land, or vehicle)
飼(か)い主(ぬし): owner of a pet
地主(じぬし): landowner, landlord
落(お)とし主(ぬし): the person who dropped something

Usage

Standalone 主(ぬし) sounds literary or archaic today; in modern speech people say 持(も)ち主(ぬし) or オーナー instead. In folklore, the 主(ぬし) of a lake or forest is its guardian spirit — a large old animal said to rule the place.

general

Added 2026.8.12 12:18 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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