Word
無口
Meaning in Englishreticence
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Word context
What it means
無口 means taciturn or reticent: a person who tends not to speak much, especially in social situations, appearing calm and reserved.
Main meanings
- habitual reticence in conversation
- silence in group or public settings, sometimes read as politeness or self-restraint
- not necessarily shy; can reflect preference for listening
- may apply to moments of quiet in discussions, not just overall personality
How to use it
Used as a na-adjective to describe a person by a trait; appropriate in neutral descriptions and in both spoken and written Japanese; in formal writing it often conveys a reserved or low-verbosity persona rather than a defect, and it can describe habitual behavior or a temporary state in a discussion.
Variants and close terms
- 寡黙 kamoku — taciturn
- 口数が少ない kōsū ga sukunai — speaks little
- 静か shizuka — quiet
Composition
- 無: 'without, none'
- 口: 'mouth'
- the combination yields a sense of 'without mouth', i.e., not speaking
Etymology
無 (mu) + 口 (kuchi) combine to express the sense of 'without mouth'; the compound historically came to denote someone who speaks little, yielding the modern sense of taciturnity.
Word class
adjective (na-adjective, 形容動詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
無礼
burei
impolite, rude
N1
閉口
heikou
shut mouth
N1
無意味
muimi
nonsense, no meaning
N1
無効
mukou
invalid, no effect, unavailable
N1
無言
mugon
silence
N1
無邪気
mujaki
innocence, simple-mindedness
N1
無線
musen
wireless, radio
N1
無駄遣い
mudazukai
waste money on, squander money on
N1
無断
mudan
without permission, without notice
Kanji