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On'yomi
ム・ブ
MU / BU
Kun'yomi
な.い
nai

nothingness · none · ain't · nothing · nil · not

Details

Strokes12
Frequency#274
Radicalfire(4)

Stroke Order

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Strokes12

Cultural Context

Etymology

Shape of dancing person. Nothing.

Symbolism

Nothing, infinite, free. Represents nothing.

Spiritual Meaning

Represents ultimate state in Buddhism and Taoism - liberation from attachment and true freedom.

Words & Expressions

Four-Character Compounds

悪逆無道

あくぎゃくむどう

treacherous; heinous; treasonous; treacherous

感慨無量

かんがいむりょう

deep emotion; being filled with emotion; deep emotion

公平無私

こうへいむし

impartiality; fair play; impartiality

厚顔無恥

こうがんむち

shameless; brazen and unscrupulous; shameless

荒唐無稽

こうとうむけい

absurd; nonsensical; preposterous; absurd

事実無根

じじつむこん

groundless; entirely contrary to fact; groundless

遮二無二

しゃにむに

desperately; recklessly; (rushing) headlong; desperately

縦横無尽

じゅうおうむじん

freely; right and left; as one pleases; freely

諸行無常

しょぎょうむじょう

all things must pass; all worldly things are impermanent; all things must pass

千万無量

せんまんむりょう

innumerable; unfathomable; unutterable; innumerable

天衣無縫

てんいむほう

perfect beauty with no trace of artifice; flawless; perfect beauty with no trace of artifice

天下無双

てんかむそう

peerless; unequaled; unequalled; peerless

天地無用

てんちむよう

do not turn upside down; do not turn upside down

平穏無事

へいおんぶじ

peaceful; quiet; uneventful; peaceful

傍若無人

ぼうじゃくぶじん

behaving outrageously as though there were no one around; acting without consideration for others; arrogance; behaving outrageously as though there were no one around

無為徒食

むいとしょく

idling one's time away; idling one's time away

無為無策

むいむさく

do-nothing, plan-nothing (government, etc.); do-nothing, plan-nothing (government, etc.)

無我夢中

むがむちゅう

losing oneself (in); being absorbed (in); forgetting oneself; losing oneself (in)

無事息災

ぶじそくさい

safe and healthy; health and longevity; safe and healthy

無知蒙昧

むちもうまい

unenlightened; uneducated; ignorant; unenlightened

無茶苦茶

むちゃくちゃ

nonsensical; unreasonable; absurd; nonsensical

無二無三

むにむさん

in earnest; single-minded; with intense concentration; in earnest

無味乾燥

むみかんそう

dull; uninteresting; dry; dull

無欲恬淡

むよくてんたん

indifferent to worldly gain; indifferent to worldly gain

無理算段

むりさんだん

scraping together (a sum of money); raising (a sum of money) by straining one's credit; scraping together (a sum of money)

無理難題

むりなんだい

unreasonable demand; unreasonable demand

問答無用

もんどうむよう

there being no use in arguing (about it); not up for discussion; there being no use in arguing (about it)

唯一無二

ゆいいつむに

one and only; unique; one and only

有害無益

ゆうがいむえき

more harm than good; harmful and of no use; more harm than good

有名無実

ゆうめいむじつ

in name but not in reality; in name but not in reality

慇懃無礼

いんぎんぶれい

superficially polite but actually rude; rude under a veneer of politeness; courteous on the surface but insolent at heart; superficially polite but actually rude

有耶無耶

うやむや

indefinite; hazy; vague; indefinite

人畜無害

じんちくむがい

harmless to humans and animals; having no influence; unimportant; harmless to humans and animals

広大無辺

こうだいむへん

boundless; infinite; vast; boundless

完全無欠

かんぜんむけつ

flawless; absolute perfection; flawless

無芸大食

むげいたいしょく

lacking the talent to do anything but eat; lacking the talent to do anything but eat

無念無想

むねんむそう

free from worldly or worthless thoughts; free from worldly or worthless thoughts

無常迅速

むじょうじんそく

the (fast) pace at which life passes, and thus the nearness of death; promptitude of the changes of the times; the (fast) pace at which life passes, and thus the nearness of death

無理往生

むりおうじょう

forced compliance; coercion; compulsion; forced compliance

無理無体

むりむたい

by force; by force

無間地獄

むけんじごく

the Avici hell (the eighth and most painful of the eight hells); hell of uninterrupted suffering; the Avici hell (the eighth and most painful of the eight hells)

純真無垢

じゅんしんむく

pure; purity; pure

融通無碍

ゆうずうむげ

free, unfettered and flexible; versatile; adaptable; free, unfettered and flexible

傲岸無礼

ごうがんぶれい

arrogance; arrogance

傲慢無礼

ごうまんぶれい

(arrogance and) insolence; (arrogance and) insolence

有形無形

ゆうけいむけい

tangible and intangible; material and spiritual; tangible and intangible

有象無象

うぞうむぞう

mob; the masses; rabble; mob

清浄無垢

せいじょうむく

purity; spotlessness; purity

天壌無窮

てんじょうむきゅう

as eternal as heaven and earth; as eternal as heaven and earth

国士無双

こくしむそう

distinguished person; thirteen orphans; winning hand containing one of each terminal and honor tile plus one extra copy of any of them; distinguished person

無罪放免

むざいほうめん

acquittal; acquittal

天下無敵

てんかむてき

peerless; unequalled; unequaled; peerless

海内無双

かいだいむそう

unparalleled in the whole country; unparalleled in the whole country

古今無双

ここんむそう

unparalleled in history; unparalleled in history

孤立無援

こりつむえん

isolated and helpless; alone and unassisted; isolated and helpless

残念無念

ざんねんむねん

deep regret; bitter disappointment; chagrin; deep regret

痛快無比

つうかいむひ

very thrilling; extremely delightful; awfully pleasant; very thrilling

放蕩無頼

ほうとうぶらい

being dissolute and unruly; ruining oneself by leading a fast life; being dissolute and unruly

無位無官

むいむかん

having no special rank or title; having no special rank or title

無為自然

むいしぜん

abandoning artifice and just being oneself; doing nothing and taking things as they come; unconditioned nature; abandoning artifice and just being oneself

無為無能

むいむのう

idle and incompetent; accomplishing nothing significant nor being capable of doing so; lacking the talent to do anything but idle away one's time; idle and incompetent

無学文盲

むがくもんもう

ignorant and illiterate; uneducated and illiterate; uneducated and illiterate person; ignorant and illiterate

無病息災

むびょうそくさい

sound health; sound health

問答無益

もんどうむえき

there being no use in arguing (about it); not up for discussion; there being no use in arguing (about it)

薬石無効

やくせきむこう

neither medicines nor medical care having little effect on a patient; neither medicines nor medical care having little effect on a patient

冷酷無情

れいこくむじょう

cruel and heartless; merciless; implacable; cruel and heartless

金甌無欠

きんおうむけつ

flawless; perfect; (a nation) having never been invaded by outside forces; flawless

冷酷無残

れいこくむざん

cruel and heartless; merciless; implacable; cruel and heartless

安穏無事

あんのんぶじ

peace and quiet; safe and peaceful; tranquil and uneventful; peace and quiet

虚無恬淡

きょむてんたん

rising above the trivia of life and remaining calm and selfless; rising above the trivia of life and remaining calm and selfless

縦横無礙

じゅうおうむげ

being as free as the air; active without any restraint; being as free as the air

純一無雑

じゅんいつむざつ

pure and unadulterated; pure in heart; simplehearted; pure and unadulterated

大逆無道

たいぎゃくむどう

heinous; treacherous; atrocious; heinous

他言無用

たごんむよう

not a word to anyone; keep it secret; mum's the word; not a word to anyone

忠勇無双

ちゅうゆうむそう

of peerless loyalty and bravery; of peerless loyalty and bravery

天下無類

てんかむるい

peerless (unparalleled, matchless, unequaled) in the country; peerless (unparalleled, matchless, unequaled) in the country

当代無双

とうだいむそう

being unsurpassed (unparalleled) at present; being unsurpassed (unparalleled) at present

南無三宝

なむさんぼう

Homage to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha); oh no!; good heavens!; Homage to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha)

剽悍無比

ひょうかんむひ

as fierce and nimble as any; daring and agile without equal; as fierce and nimble as any

無事平穏

ぶじへいおん

peace and quiet; safe and peaceful; tranquil and uneventful; peace and quiet

無礼千万

ぶれいせんばん

extremely rude (impertinent, impolite); extremely rude (impertinent, impolite)

平安無事

へいあんぶじ

peace and quiet; safe and peaceful; tranquil and uneventful; peace and quiet

無益有害

むえきゆうがい

useless and harmful; useless and harmful

無学無識

むがくむしき

illiterate and ignorant; uneducated and lacking in wisdom and discernment; illiterate and ignorant

無学無知

むがくむち

illiterate and ignorant; illiterate and ignorant

無垢清浄

むくせいじょう

pure and innocent; immaculate; pure and innocent

無策無為

むさくむい

do-nothingism; do-nothing, plan-nothing (government, etc.); being an idle onlooker taking no steps to meet the situation; do-nothingism

無始無終

むしむしゅう

everlastingness; eternity; everlastingness

無色透明

むしょくとうめい

colorless and transparent; colorless and transparent

無想無念

むそうむねん

being free from all distracting thoughts; keeping one's mind clear of all worldly thoughts; being free from all ideas and thoughts; being free from all distracting thoughts

無知愚昧

むちぐまい

unenlightened; in the darkest ignorance; not knowing from A to B; unenlightened

無知文盲

むちもんもう

ignorance and illiteracy; ignorance and illiteracy

無手勝流

むてかつりゅう

winning without fighting; method used to win without fighting; one's own way of doing things (i.e. as different from that of one's instructor); winning without fighting

無念千万

むねんせんばん

being really disappointed; feeling utterly mortified; being deeply vexed; being really disappointed

無理非道

むりひどう

unreasonable and unjust; unconscionable; unreasonable and unjust

無量無辺

むりょうむへん

immense and limitless; immense and limitless

勇猛無比

ゆうもうむひ

most brave; as brave as any; unmatched for valor; most brave

市井無頼

しせいぶらい

urban villain; street hoodlum; urban villain

無明長夜

むみょうじょうや

the long night of spiritual darkness; the long night of spiritual darkness

諸法無我

しょほうむが

idea that all things in the universe lack their own unchangeable substances; idea that all things in the universe lack their own unchangeable substances

無私無偏

むしむへん

to think or act fairly without concern for one's own benefit; to think or act fairly without concern for one's own benefit

無私無欲

むしむよく

selflessness; unselfishness; selflessness

有相無相

うそうむそう

all things in nature; the whole creation; all things in nature