Word
無口
Meaning in Englishreticence
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Sentence
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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
N2
無沙汰
busata
neglecting to stay in contact
N2
窓口
madoguchi
(ticket) window
N2
間も無く
mamonaku
soon, in a short time
N2
無限
mugen
infinite
N2
無地
muji
plain
N2
無数
musuu
countless number, infinite number
N3
有無
umu
presence or absence, yes or no
N3
無
mu
nothing, absence, nonexistence
N3
無視
mushi
ignoring, disregard
Kanji