Word
無意味
Meaning in Englishnonsense, no meaning
Animated kanji stroke order
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)