主役

しゅやく · shuyaku · JLPT N2 · noun

part

🎬 主役 = main + role: the leading actor's part in a play or film

主 (shu) means main or master; 役 (yaku) means role or duty. Together they name the lead part, sounding like 'shoe-yak'.

主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.

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