要旨

• Reading: ようし
• Romaji: youshi
• Kanji breakdown: 要 (you) — essential, important; 旨 (shi) — purport, meaning, gist
• Pronunciation: /jo.ɯ.ɕi/

Meaning

Main point; gist; summary. The essential substance of a text, speech, or argument.

A noun used in formal and academic contexts to refer to the core content or key points of a document, speech, or discussion. More concise and formal than 要約 (summary/synopsis). Often used for thesis abstracts (論文の要旨), meeting summaries (会議の要旨), and policy outlines. Commonly tested in JLPT reading comprehension — identifying the 要旨 of a passage.

Examples

1. 論文の要旨を提出してください。 Please submit the abstract of your paper.
2. 会議の要旨をメールで共有した。 I shared the gist of the meeting by email.
3. この記事の要旨は三行でまとめられる。 The main point of this article can be summed up in three lines.

Usage Guide

Context: academics, writing, business, meetings

Tone: formal

Origin & History

From Sino-Japanese 要 (you, essential/important) + 旨 (shi, purport/meaning). Together: 'essential meaning' — the core substance or gist of something.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Educated