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無

On'yomi
ム・ブ
MU / BU
Kun'yomi
な.い
nai

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

Details

Strokes12
Frequency#274
Radical火fire(4)

Description

Nothingness - the Zen character for emptiness. Not lack, but freedom from attachment and limit.

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

Words written with 無

無効むこうvoid
無謀むぼうreckless
無限むげんinfinity
無駄むだuselessness
無常むじょうimpermanence

Four-Character Compounds

悪逆無道

あくぎゃくむどう

treacherous; heinous; treasonous

感慨無量

かんがいむりょう

deep emotion; being filled with emotion

公平無私

こうへいむし

impartiality; fair play

厚顔無恥

こうがんむち

shameless; brazen and unscrupulous

荒唐無稽

こうとうむけい

absurd; nonsensical; preposterous

事実無根

じじつむこん

groundless; entirely contrary to fact

遮二無二

しゃにむに

desperately; recklessly; (rushing) headlong

縦横無尽

じゅうおうむじん

freely; right and left; as one pleases

諸行無常

しょぎょうむじょう

all things must pass; all worldly things are impermanent

千万無量

せんまんむりょう

innumerable; unfathomable; unutterable

天衣無縫

てんいむほう

perfect beauty with no trace of artifice; flawless

天下無双

てんかむそう

peerless; unequaled; unequalled

天地無用

てんちむよう

do not turn upside down

平穏無事

へいおんぶじ

peaceful; quiet; uneventful

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

無為徒食

むいとしょく

idling one's time away

無為無策

むいむさく

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

無我夢中

むがむちゅう

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

無事息災

ぶじそくさい

safe and healthy; health and longevity

無知蒙昧

むちもうまい

unenlightened; uneducated; ignorant

無茶苦茶

むちゃくちゃ

nonsensical; unreasonable; absurd

無二無三

むにむさん

in earnest; single-minded; with intense concentration

無味乾燥

むみかんそう

dull; uninteresting; dry

無欲恬淡

むよくてんたん

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

無理難題

むりなんだい

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

唯一無二

ゆいいつむに

one and only; unique

有害無益

ゆうがいむえき

more harm than good; harmful and of no use

有名無実

ゆうめいむじつ

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

有耶無耶

うやむや

indefinite; hazy; vague

人畜無害

じんちくむがい

harmless to humans and animals; having no influence; unimportant

広大無辺

こうだいむへん

boundless; infinite; vast

完全無欠

かんぜんむけつ

flawless; absolute perfection

無芸大食

むげいたいしょく

lacking the talent to do anything but eat

無念無想

むねんむそう

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

無理往生

むりおうじょう

forced compliance; coercion; compulsion

無理無体

むりむたい

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

純真無垢

じゅんしんむく

pure; purity

融通無碍

ゆうずうむげ

free, unfettered and flexible; versatile; adaptable

傲岸無礼

ごうがんぶれい

arrogance

傲慢無礼

ごうまんぶれい

(arrogance and) insolence

有形無形

ゆうけいむけい

tangible and intangible; material and spiritual

有象無象

うぞうむぞう

mob; the masses; rabble

清浄無垢

せいじょうむく

purity; spotlessness

天壌無窮

てんじょうむきゅう

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

無罪放免

むざいほうめん

acquittal

天下無敵

てんかむてき

peerless; unequalled; unequaled

海内無双

かいだいむそう

unparalleled in the whole country

古今無双

ここんむそう

unparalleled in history

孤立無援

こりつむえん

isolated and helpless; alone and unassisted

残念無念

ざんねんむねん

deep regret; bitter disappointment; chagrin

痛快無比

つうかいむひ

very thrilling; extremely delightful; awfully pleasant

放蕩無頼

ほうとうぶらい

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

無位無官

むいむかん

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

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

無学文盲

むがくもんもう

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

無病息災

むびょうそくさい

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

薬石無効

やくせきむこう

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

金甌無欠

きんおうむけつ

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

冷酷無残

れいこくむざん

cruel and heartless; merciless; implacable

安穏無事

あんのんぶじ

peace and quiet; safe and peaceful; tranquil and uneventful

虚無恬淡

きょむてんたん

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

純一無雑

じゅんいつむざつ

pure and unadulterated; pure in heart; simplehearted

大逆無道

たいぎゃくむどう

heinous; treacherous; atrocious

他言無用

たごんむよう

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

忠勇無双

ちゅうゆうむそう

of peerless loyalty and bravery

天下無類

てんかむるい

peerless (unparalleled, matchless, unequaled) in the country

当代無双

とうだいむそう

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!

剽悍無比

ひょうかんむひ

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

無事平穏

ぶじへいおん

peace and quiet; safe and peaceful; tranquil and uneventful

無礼千万

ぶれいせんばん

extremely rude (impertinent, impolite)

平安無事

へいあんぶじ

peace and quiet; safe and peaceful; tranquil and uneventful

無益有害

むえきゆうがい

useless and harmful

無学無識

むがくむしき

illiterate and ignorant; uneducated and lacking in wisdom and discernment

無学無知

むがくむち

illiterate and ignorant

無垢清浄

むくせいじょう

pure and innocent; immaculate

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

無始無終

むしむしゅう

everlastingness; eternity

無色透明

むしょくとうめい

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

無知愚昧

むちぐまい

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

無知文盲

むちもんもう

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)

無念千万

むねんせんばん

being really disappointed; feeling utterly mortified; being deeply vexed

無理非道

むりひどう

unreasonable and unjust; unconscionable

無量無辺

むりょうむへん

immense and limitless

勇猛無比

ゆうもうむひ

most brave; as brave as any; unmatched for valor

市井無頼

しせいぶらい

urban villain; street hoodlum

無明長夜

むみょうじょうや

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

無私無偏

むしむへん

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

無私無欲

むしむよく

selflessness; unselfishness

有相無相

うそうむそう

all things in nature; the whole creation

Anime & Manga

鬼滅の刃 無限列車編

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train

Anime

A well-known work with 無 in its Japanese title.

無職転生 ~異世界行ったら本気だす~

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

Anime

A well-known work with 無 in its Japanese title.

無職転生Ⅱ ~異世界行ったら本気だす~

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2

Anime

A well-known work with 無 in its Japanese title.

劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限城編 第一章 猗窩座再来

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle

Anime

A well-known work with 無 in its Japanese title.

無職転生Ⅲ ~異世界行ったら本気だす~

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3

Anime

A well-known work with 無 in its Japanese title.

Related Figures & Stories

無学祖元

Mugaku Sogen1226–1286

Name contains 無

Named Wuxue Zuyuan in China, Mugaku Sogen , also known as Bukko Kokushi in Japan, was a prominent Chinese Zen Buddhist monk of the 13th century in…

Wikipedia

無外如大

Mugai Nyodai1223–1298

Name contains 無

Mugai Nyodai was one of the first abbesses of Zen Buddhism and the first female Zen master in Japan.

Wikipedia

無住

Mujū1227–1312

Name contains 無

Mujū Dōkyō , birth name Ichien Dōkyō, was a Buddhist monk of the Japanese Kamakura period.

Wikipedia

Other kanji with the same meaning

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 無 mean in Japanese?

無 means nothingness, none, ain't, nothing, nil, not. Nothingness - the Zen character for emptiness. Not lack, but freedom from attachment and limit.

How do you read 無?

On'yomi: ム、ブ (MU, BU). Kun'yomi: な.い (nai).

How many strokes does 無 have?

無 has 12 strokes. Its radical is 火 (fire).

Is 無 a good kanji for a tattoo?

無 is one of the kanji most often chosen for tattoos. It means nothingness, none, ain't, nothing, nil, not. Read the full meaning and cultural background on this page first — some popular choices are deliberately dark.

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