無意味
Meaning in Englishnonsense, no meaning
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
What it means
無意味 means without meaning; it describes something that lacks significance, purpose, or value in a given context. It can apply to statements, actions, or things that do not convey any useful information or are irrelevant.
Main meanings
- Absence of inherent meaning: something that cannot be interpreted or understood as conveying information.
- Subjective insignificance: perceived as irrelevant or trivial in a given context.
- Philosophical or linguistic usage: used to discuss the meaningfulness or lack thereof of statements or concepts.
- Colloquial emphasis: in casual speech it can express frustration or dismissal about the content of a remark.
How to use it
無意味 is used in both formal and casual contexts to label statements or actions as lacking significance or relevance. It often appears with the copula だ or in attributive form 無意味な + noun, and is found in written critiques as well as everyday conversation; typical mood ranges from neutral assessment to sharp criticism in tone. In Japanese, it can modify nouns as 無意味な話 or appear as 無意味だ in predicates.
Variants and close terms
- 意味をなさない (imi o nasanai) – synonymous nuance; romaji: imi o nasanai
- 意味がない (imi ga nai) – direct synonym; romaji: imi ga nai
- 取るに足らない (toru ni taranai) – not worth considering; romaji: toru ni taranai
- 有意義 (yūigi) – antonym meaning meaningful; romaji: yūigi
Composition
- 無: nothing, none; negation or absence
- 意: meaning, thought, intention
- Combined 無意味 expresses 'without meaning' by negating meaning with 無
Word class
adjectival noun (na-adjective) (形容動詞)