元本|がんぽんganpon[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounprincipal; capital
2. nounincome-producing assets

• Synonym原資げんしWrittenWritten/formal prose. Names the source that funds something, as in 「年金の原資」; 「元本」 is the principal put into an investment or loan.
• Synonym元金がんきんNeutralThe principal of a loan, or seed money, as in 「元金均等返済」; 「元本」 leans toward principal in investing and finance.
• Synonym元手もとでCasualColloquial. The money or capital you start a business with, as in 「体が元手」; 「元本」 is the financial principal.
• Synonym資本しほんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Capital for running a business, as in 「資本主義」; 「元本」 leans toward investment principal.
• Related資金しきんNeutralFunds for running a business or project, as in 「資金調達」; 「元本」 is the principal itself that you put in.
• Related資本金しほんきんFormalFormal. The registered capital a company puts up; 「元本」 is the principal of an investment or loan.
• Antonym利子りしNeutralInterest produced by the principal; stands opposite 「元本」 on the principal-and-interest contrast.
• Antonym利息りそくNeutralInterest on a loan or deposit, common in everyday use too; stands opposite 「元本」 on the principal-vs-interest axis.

Use 「元本」 for the principal you put into an investment or loan, as in 「元本保証」 and 「元本割れ」. For a loan's principal pick 「元金」, for business capital 「元手」 or 「資本」; 「利子」 and 「利息」 are the interest it earns.

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

1. もとでのこと。投資とうしした金銭きんせん。