借り手

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 借り手 is read かりて and identifies the person on the borrowing side. 手 marks the person performing the action.
• Basic usage: It refers to someone renting a room or a borrower who must return an item.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Direction compared with 貸し手
  • 借り手 is the borrower, while 貸し手(かして) is the lender. They name opposite sides of the same transaction.
• Translate for the object
  • For a rented room, tenant is appropriate; for borrowed objects or money, borrower fits.