The Meaning of jūmin [住民] In Japanese

住民
じゅうみん
Romaji: jūmin N4

What does 住民 mean?

Translation and Meaning

resident, inhabitant, citizen

Definition

What does 住民 mean? It designates a person who lives in a particular area or municipality; more broadly, people who belong to a locality or community.

Type

noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • Local resident or inhabitant of a defined area such as a city, town, ward, or region, emphasizing place-based belonging.
  • In demographic or statistical contexts, the term refers to the population registered as residents of a locality, used in census, planning, and governance.
  • In legal or administrative contexts, it can denote people whose address is registered in the locality, often seen in terms like resident registration and electoral matters.

Composition

  • 住: reside, live; acts as the core semantic beam indicating the act of living in a place
  • 民: people, the populace; communicates the group of individuals involved

Usage

Used in formal and everyday Japanese to refer to people living in a given area; contexts include government reports, demographic data, local news, and community meetings; common collocations include 町の住民, 地域の住民, 住民票, 住民基本台帳.
💡 Tips
Visualize a person (人) under a roof with a guiding mind (主) to form the idea of living somewhere; the concept is reinforced by combining ‘to reside’ and ‘people’ to mean those who live in a community.

Variations

  • 住人 (じゅうにん, juunin) – more casual, close synonym with similar sense
  • 居住者 (きょじゅうしゃ, kyojuusha) – formal/administrative synonym
  • 市民 (しみん, shimin) – citizen, broader social role
  • 在住者 (ざいじゅうしゃ, zaijuusha) – resident currently residing in a place

Example Phrases

  • 地域の祭りで 住民みんなが 団結して 劇を 準備する。
    chiiki no matsuri de juumin minna ga danketsu shite geki o junbi suru.
    At the regional festival, all residents unite to prepare the play.
    Lista:
    • 地域の祭りで (chiiki no matsuri de) – at the regional festival
    • 住民みんなが (juumin minna ga) – all residents
    • 団結して (danketsu shite) – unite
    • 劇を (geki o) – the play
    • 準備する (junbi suru) – prepare
    Here, 「団結」 means unity/solidarity and is followed by して to express ‘unite’.
  • 町の 住民は 公園の 清掃を 手伝います。
    machi no jūmin wa kōen no seisou o tetsudaimasu.
    The town’s residents help with cleaning the park.
    Lista:
    • 町の (machi no) – town’s
    • 住民は (jūmin wa) – residents (topic marker)
    • 公園の (kōen no) – park’s
    • 清掃を (seisou o) – cleaning (object)
    • 手伝います (tetsudaimasu) – help
    住民 means residents; here it is the subject marked by は, as in 「住民」.
  • 今日は 役場で 住民票を 確認して 発行申請を 出しました。
    Kyou wa yakuba de juuminhyou o kakunin shite hakko shinsei o dashimashita.
    Today at the city hall I confirmed the resident registration and submitted the issuance application.
    Lista:
    • 今日は (Kyou wa) – today
    • 役場で (yakuba de) – at the city hall
    • 住民票を (juuminhyou o) – resident registration
    • 確認して (kakunin shite) – confirming
    • 発行申請を (hakko shinsei o) – issuance application
    • 出しました (dashimashita) – submitted
    The local government office is 「役場」; here, で marks location, so it means ‘at the city hall’.
住民