旦那

Japanese

Kanji in this term
旦	那
だん Grade: S	な Grade: S
goon

Alternative spelling
檀那

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 旦那 (MC tanH na), 檀那 (MC dan na), both used as transliterations of Sanskrit दान (dā́na, “generosity, giving, donating”). Ultimately cognate with English donate and donor, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₃nom.

Attested in Japanese since at least the 1000s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) だんな [dàńná] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [dã̠nːa̠]

Noun

旦(だん)那(な) • (danna) 

1. (Buddhism) generosity as one of the Buddhist perfections (पारमिता (pāramitā))
2. (Buddhism) a donation of money, goods, or service to monks or a temple
3. (Buddhism) a person who makes such a donation: a patron
4. (archaic) in the Japanese medieval period, overnight visitors to a shrine or temple
   1. (archaic) by extension, a gentleman
5. 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
      • Carolin Eckhardt, “7　Julia　日本のどこがお好きっ？”, in 奥さま Guten(グーテン) Tag(ターク)!‎^[3] (fiction), 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)宅(たく)したところです

        Danna no Takayuki wa mada o-shigotoganbatte iru tokoro desu ga, watashi wa saki ni kōhī-ya-san no arubaito kara kitaku shita tokoro desu

        My husband Takayuki is still at work, I’ve just finished my part-time shift at a coffee shop

   3. (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
   4. (honorific) a term used by a concubine, mistress, or geisha to refer to one's own patron: a sugar daddy
   5. (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(ふ)施(せ) (fuse)
• (artisanal lineage): 檀(だん)那(な)流(りゅう) (danna ryū)
• (husband, boss, master of the house): 主(しゅ)人(じん) (shujin)
• (a woman's patron, a sugar daddy): パトロン (patoron)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 旦(だん)那(な)ぶる (dannaburu): to act or behave masterfully
• 旦(だん)那(な)芸(げい) (dannagei): an art or cultural pursuit studied by someone who is well-to-do as a means of passing the time
• 旦(だん)那(な)寺(でら) (danna-dera): a Buddhist temple supported by a household that has converted to Buddhism
• 旦(だん)那(な)持(も)ち (danna mochi): having patronage; someone that has patronage (generally female, such as a geisha)
• 旦(だん)那(な)取(ど)り (danna-dori): taking a master, as a servant; becoming a mistress or concubine
• 旦(だん)那(な)場(ば) (dannaba): a good customer

Idioms

Idioms

• 旦(だん)那(な)を取(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(だん)那(な)の一(いっ)気(き)働(ばたら)きは鬼(おに)も叶(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(だん)那(な)の喧(けん)嘩(か)は槍(やり)持(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(だん)那(な)の好(す)きな赤(あか)烏(え)帽(ぼ)子(し) (danna no suki na aka-eboshi): "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(だん)那(な)の前(まえ)より釜(かま)の前(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(だん)那(な)三(さん)百(びゃく)我(われ)五(ご)百(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

See also

• Pāramitā on Wikipedia.Wikipedia