Usage patterns 主しゅ 要よう な 〈 事こと 〉 the main/principal (cause, factor, point, etc.)
The main cause of the accident is still unknown.
主しゅ 要よう な 役やく 割わり を 果は たす to play a major role
He played a major role in this project.
〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 の 主しゅ 要よう 都と 市し a major city of (a region/country)
Tokyo is one of Japan's major cities.
Kanji 要 need, main point, essence Related words· 11 主な is a plain prenominal adjective meaning 'main' used directly before a noun, while 主要 is more formal and can function as both a noun and a な -adjective.
重要 stresses how important or valuable something is, whereas 主要 stresses that something is the central or leading item among several.
中心的 focuses on being at the core or center of something, while 主要 focuses on being one of the leading or major elements in a group.
肝要 is a more literary word emphasizing that something is essential or crucial, while 主要 simply marks something as the main one among several options.
Show 7 more Show fewer 主 in 主な /主に is the everyday word for 'main', while 主要 is a more formal, Sino-Japanese term common in written or business contexts.
主要 is a common adjective-like noun meaning main or principal, while 主 alone in this sense appears mostly in stiff written expressions like 主とする .
主要 is a formal, written Sino-Japanese word for 'main/principal', while メイン is a casual loanword used in everyday speech.
主要 is a general word for 'main' or 'major' used for abstract things like reasons or industries, while 目抜き is specifically used for prominent streets, districts, or shopping areas.
主要 is a general native Japanese word for 'main' or 'major', while リーディング is a loanword that specifically evokes being at the front of an industry or ranking.
主要 (as 主要な ) is a more objective term for 'main/major,' often used for lists or categories, whereas 主なる has a slightly more subjective, narrative tone.
主たる is a fixed pre-noun form used only before nouns, whereas 主要 (as a na-adjective) can also stand as a predicate, e.g. 「これが主要だ」 .
Word family· 20 principal movement; principal shock
primary factor; main cause
major power; principal countries
main point; keynote
major newspaper; leading newspaper
Show 5 more Show fewer main part; key part; principal section · head (of a phrase)
major station; main station
minor; non-primary; secondary
key people; main characters; leading figures
key industries; major industries
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Etymology Compound of 主 (しゅ , 'main, chief') and 要 (よう , 'essential, important'). The combination conveys the idea of something being the most central or principal.
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