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Definition 2024

旦那

Japanese

Kanji in this term
旦	那
だん Grade: S	な Grade: S
on'yomi

Alternative forms

檀那

Noun

旦那 ‎(hiragana だんな, romaji danna)

(Buddhism) generosity as one of the Buddhist perfections (पारमिता ‎(pāramitā))
(Buddhism) a donation of money, goods, or service to monks or a temple
(Buddhism) a person who makes such a donation: a patron
(archaic) in the Japanese medieval period, overnight visitors to a shrine or temple
broadly, a patron, a husband, a master:
1. (honorific) a master of servants, a boss of employees, the master of the house
2. (honorific) by extension, an honorific for one's own or someone else's husband
  - 2009, Jun Tasa, 異人舟: 薬種屋喜十事件控 [Foreigner Boat: Notes on Ten Fortuitous Drugstore Incidents] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Gakken Publishing, ISBN 9784059006121, page うちの旦 (だん)那 (な)は、その二人 (ふたり)とは会 (あ)ったこともない。
    
    Uchi no danna wa, sono futari to wa atta koto mo nai.
    
    My husband hasn't even met those two people.
    
    :
  - Carolin Eckhardt, “Julia　日本のどこがお好きっ？ [Julia　What Place in Japan Do You Like?]”, in 奥さま GutenグーテンTagターク! [Housewife Good Day!] (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Shueisha:
    旦 (だん)那 (な)の隆 (たか)之 (ゆき)はまだお仕 (し)事 (ごと)頑 (がん)張 (ば)っているところですが、私 (わたし)は先 (さき)にコーヒー屋 (や)さんのアルバイトから帰 (き)したところです
    
    Danna no Takayuki wa mada oshigoto ganbatte iru tokoro desu ga, watashi wa saki ni kōhī-ya-san no arubaito kara kishita tokoro desu
    
    My husband Takayuki is still at work, I've just finished my part-time job at a coffee shop

1. (honorific) also by extension, used by shopkeepers to address a male customer or by an artisan to refer to one's own school or lineage
2. (honorific) a term used by a concubine, mistress, or geisha to refer to one's own patron: a sugar daddy
3. (honorific) a term used by female servants to refer to the mistress of the house

Usage notes

The husband, master, and patron senses may be the most commonly used meanings in modern Japanese.

When referring to another person's husband, this term is often suffixed with 様 (sama) as 旦那様 (danna-sama).

The patron sense in Buddhist contexts is often spelled 檀那.

Synonyms

(donation of money, goods, or service): 布施 (ふせ, fuse)
(artisanal lineage): 檀那流 (だんなりゅう, danna ryū)
(husband, boss, master of the house): 主人 (しゅじん, shujin)
(a woman's patron, a sugar daddy): パトロン (patoron)

Derived terms

旦那ぶる (だんなぶる, dannaburu): to act or behave masterfully
旦那芸 (だんなげい, dannagei): an art or cultural pursuit studied by someone who is well-to-do as a means of passing the time
旦那寺 (だんなでら, dannadera): a Buddhist temple supported by a household that has converted to Buddhism
旦那持ち, 旦那持 (だんなもち, danna mochi): having patronage; someone that has patronage (generally female, such as a geisha)
旦那取り, 旦那取 (だんなどり, dannadori): taking a master, as a servant; becoming a mistress or concubine
旦那場 (だんなば, dannaba): a good customer

Idioms

旦那を取る (だんなをとる, danna o toru): "to take a master", to find a patron → generally refers to a geisha or other female finding a male to look after their needs
旦那の一気働きは鬼も叶わぬ (だんなのいっきばたらきはおにもかなわぬ, danna no ikkibataraki wa oni mo kanawanu): "not even the devil can match the master for getting down to hard work" → someone who rarely has to get involved in actual work will work very hard when they have to roll up their sleeves and do it themselves
旦那の喧嘩は槍持ちから (だんなのけんかはやりもちから, danna no kenka wa yarimochi kara): "fights between masters start from the guardsmen" → disputes between the powerful often arise from minor disputes among their employees or followers: petty foibles can lead to big battles
旦那の好きな赤烏帽子 (だんなのすきなあかえぼし, danna no suki na akaeboshi): "the master's beloved red eboshi hat" → 烏帽子 ‎(eboshi) are traditionally black, so a red eboshi indicates someone willing to go against tradition: no matter how strange, one must follow one's master
旦那の前より釜の前 (だんなのまえよりかまのまえ, danna no mae yori kama no mae): "(better) in front of a pot than in front of a master" → it is better to be one's own master, even if it means being poor
旦那三百我五百 (だんなさんびゃくわれごひゃく, danna sanbyaku ware gohyaku): "three hundred for the master, five hundred for me" → people generally think of their own benefit more than the benefit of their masters or bosses

References

↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9