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
N3
無駄
muda
waste, useless, futile
N3
無料
muryou
free, no charge
N3
利口
rikou
clever, smart, shrewd
N3
悪口
warukuchi
insult, badmouthing, abuse
N3
無し
nashi
without
N3
無事
buji
safety, peace
N4
無くなる
nakunaru
disappear, run out, be lost
N4
人口
jinkou
population, number of people
N4
無理
muri
impossible, unreasonable, forced
Kanji