重臣

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 重臣 is a noun read じゅうしん, referring to a senior retainer, minister, or adviser with important responsibility under a ruler.
• Basic usage: It can refer to a group summoned by a king for discussion or one important minister supporting a young ruler.
  • 王は重臣を集めて国の将来を話し合いました。 says that the king gathered senior advisers to discuss the country's future; 物語では一人の重臣が若い君主を支えています。 says that one important minister supports the young ruler in the story.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 重臣を集める
  • を marks the senior advisers as the people whom the king gathered.
• 一人の重臣
  • 一人の specifies one minister rather than an unspecified group.
• 重臣 and 家臣
  • 家臣 broadly denotes a retainer serving a lord or house, while 重臣 identifies one holding especially important rank or responsibility.