ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
主
main; owner; host
zhǔ
5 strokes · 丶 (flame) over 王-shaped lampstand · HSK 3
Where 主 comes from
A lamp flame 丶 on its stand — the fixed point everything gathers around. The one who keeps the household flame is the master; what the flame lights first is the main thing.
主 in Chinese culture
主要 main, 主人 host/owner, 主意 idea (your inner master's decision). 民主 'people as master' = democracy — a word coined when Chinese thinkers met Western politics.
Example
主要 zhǔyào — main
这是最主要的问题。
Zhè shì zuì zhǔyào de wèntí.
This is the main problem.
How to remember it
The FLAME on the lampstand — the MASTER light of the house.
Adding 亻gives 住 'to live' — a person settling by the master flame.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 主
主要 zhǔyào
main
主人 zhǔrén
host; owner
Related characters
LEARN 主 WITH STROKE-BY-STROKE WRITING → DOWNLOAD ZHIZHI
One character a morning · 401-character HSK library · iOS