How to say "main" in Japanese

• メインCommon
  no-adjectiveThe katakana loanword, at home in everyday conversation: the main dish on a menu, the main event of a program, the part that matters most.
  昨日きのうの競馬けいばのメインレースは、とってもかたくおさまったよ。ああいうのを、銀行ぎんこうレースって言いうんだよね。↗

  The main race yesterday was no surprise. That's the kind of race you can bank on.
• 主おもCommon
  na-adjective, nounThe everyday adjective for 'main': the main reason, the main purpose, the main problem. A safe choice whenever you simply mean that one thing among several is the chief one.
  読書どくしょが彼かれのおもな楽たのしみだ。↗

  Reading is his chief amusement.
• 主要しゅようJLPT N3approx.Common
  na-adjective, nounChief, main, or major; you meet it mostly in writing and news reports, as in the major newspapers, the principal cities, or the main figures in a field.
  日本にっぽんの主要しゅよう作物さくもつは米こめである。↗

  The main crop of Japan is rice.
• 主たるしゅたるCommon
  pre-noun adjectivalMain, principal, or primary, but chiefly a word of contracts, regulations, and official documents — a company's principal office, the primary purpose of an agreement. Seldom what you want in speech.
  私の主しゅたる関心事かんしんじはあなたの身みの安全あんぜんなのです。↗

  My primary concern is your safety.
• 目抜きめぬきCommon
  no-adjectivePrincipal and fashionable at once: really the word for a busy, smart main street lined with shops, and seldom what you want for 'main' in any other sense.

「メイン」 is a loanword for the main item or event, 主 the adjective for main reasons, 主要 the written word for major cities or figures, 「主たる」 the choice in contracts and documents, and 「目抜き」 only for fashionable main streets.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• メインmain
• 主おもchief
• 主要しゅようchief
• 主たるしゅたるmain
• 目抜きめぬきprincipal
• 正面しょうめんfront
• 肝心かんじんessential
• 主なるおもなるmain
• 主なおもなchief
• たてcentral
• ボリュームゾーンmass-market segment
• 肝心要かんじんかなめcrucial
• 主だったおもだったchief
• 本ほんmain
• 親おやkey