What does 本体 mean?
本体 is a Japanese noun meaning “substance, body, trunk” in English. It can also be translated as “main part, object of worship (at a shrine, temple, etc.), noumenon” depending on context. It is written as 本体 in kanji, ほんたい in hiragana, and hontai in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N1 vocabulary.
Example sentence
なんであれ物事の本体を捕らえる事が肝心だ。
No matter what the problem is, it's essential to get at the heart of the matter.