無駄
muda[mɯ̟da̠]
The Japanese word for 'pointless' is 無駄 (muda).
Meaning: having no purpose (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 無駄 literally means waste, futility or uselessness.
Which one should you use?
無駄 emphasizes that an action is a waste or is futile.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
無駄 is an informal way to say something is 'pointless'. To make the statement more polite and suitable for most social situations, you should use the form 無駄です. For a formal way to say something is 'not worth considering' or 'not worth taking', the expression 取るに足りない is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you use 無駄 as an adjective to modify a noun directly, the form changes to 無駄な.
How do you pronounce it?
muda
Did you know?
- When describing a person's effort as 'pointless', Japanese speakers often use the phrase 無駄骨 (mudabone), which literally translates to 'useless bones'.
- While 無駄 describes a waste of effort, Japanese has a distinct concept called 'mottainai' for the regret felt when an object is wasted.
- Although the kanji for 無駄 are used today, the word is actually an 'ateji' construction, meaning the characters were chosen for their sounds or meanings rather than being a strict phonetic match for the original word.
Examples in context
- 無駄だよ。It's pointless.This sentence demonstrates the use of 無駄 to say 'It's pointless'.Tatoeba #12281043 by small_snow, translation #2123587 by CK
- この2年間ほんと無駄にしてきたなあ。大学入ってから全然成長してない気がする。These two years were completely pointless. It seems to me that I haven't matured one bit since I've been at the university.This sentence shows how 無駄 can describe a period of time that was completely pointless.Tatoeba #2912382 by tommy_san, translation #2915748 by patgfisher
- 私達の議論は無駄でした。Our discussion was pointless.
- 彼女の計画は意味がなかった。Her plan was pointless.
- このゲームは無意味だ。This game is pointless.
- そんな議論は無駄だ。Sonna giron wa muda da.That discussion is pointless.
Example conversation
Two people are discussing a strategy for a video game.
- 陽太 Yotaこの作戦、無駄じゃないかな？Kono sakusen, muda janai kana?Don't you think this strategy is pointless?
- 陽葵 Himari確かに、あまり意味がなさそう。Tashika ni, amari imi ga nasasou.True, it doesn't seem to have much meaning.
- 陽太 Yotaもっと効率的な方法を探そう。Motto kouritsuteki na houhou o sagasou.Let's look for a more efficient way.
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね、陽太。そうしよう。Sou dane, Youta. Sou shiyou.You're right, Youta. Let's do that.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 無駄, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 無駄, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
