主人|しゅじんshujin[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounhead (of a household); proprietor (of a store); proprietress; landlord; landlady
2. nounone's husband
   主人しゅじんは料理りょうりがとても上手じょうずです。↗

   My husband is a very good cook.
3. noun(one's) employer; (one's) master
4. nounhost; hostess

• Synonym旦那だんなCasualColloquial for one's husband or a boss, as in 「うちの旦那」; more casual than 「主人」, and also what merchants call a male customer.
• Synonym亭主ていしゅNeutralMeans the head of a household or a husband, as in 「亭主関白」, and can also mean an innkeeper; carries an old-fashioned tone.
• SynonymホストCasualLoanword for the host of a party or event, also a male host club worker; its meaning shifts widely with the context.
• Synonym主君しゅくんFormalFormal term for the lord whom retainers serve, found mostly in historical dramas; not used for modern employment.
• Related雇い主やといぬしNeutralThe party who hires people to work, as in 「雇い主に相談する」; focuses on the employment relationship and never means a husband.
• Related主人役しゅじんやくWrittenThe host who looks after guests at a party or banquet, as in 「主人役を務める」; stresses a temporary role rather than status.
• Related雇用主こようぬしWrittenWritten/formal prose for an employer or employing organization, common in labor law; more formal than 「雇い主」.
• Antonym客きゃくNeutralStands opposite the host sense of 「主人」: a visiting guest or a customer.
• Antonym従者じゅうしゃWrittenOpposite of 「主人」 as master: an attendant or follower, with an old-fashioned flavor.
• Antonym使用人しようにんNeutralOpposite of 「主人」 as employer: a servant or employee, as in 「屋敷の使用人」.
• Antonym客賓まろうどWrittenOpposite of 「主人」 as host: an archaic word for a guest from afar, rarely used in modern Japanese.

Default choice: 「主人」 for the head of a household or one's husband. Colloquially say 「旦那」 for a husband, 「亭主」 for the household head. For an employer use 「雇い主」 or formal 「雇用主」; for a party's host, 「ホスト」; for a historical lord, 「主君」; for the opposite, a guest is 「客」.

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

1. 家いえの長ちょう。
2. 店みせの長ちょう。
3. 夫おっと。
4. 家臣かしんや召使めしつかいなどがつかえる相手あいての人ひと。領主りょうしゅ。雇い主やといぬし。動物どうぶつの飼い主かいぬし。
5. 客きゃくをもてなす側がわの人ひと。