Translation guide
How to express the state or act of doing nothing in Japanese, from simply being idle to deliberately avoiding action.
Describe a state of leisure, inactivity, or having nothing to do.
The most direct and common way to say 'doing nothing' or 'not doing anything'. It's a neutral statement of fact.
I'm not doing anything right now.
He did nothing all day.
Means 'free time' or 'having nothing to do'. Often used when you are bored or available.
Describes hanging around doing nothing in particular, often with a nuance of idling or loafing.
On Sunday I just lazed around at home doing nothing.
Implies relaxing and taking it easy, not necessarily 'doing nothing' but enjoying leisure without activity.
I like just relaxing and doing nothing on my days off.
Express intentionally not doing something, holding back, or leaving things as they are.
The plain non-past form, often used for decisions or intentions to do nothing.
Describe a state of laziness, wasting time, or not doing what one should be doing.
Means being lazy or idle, often with a negative connotation of neglecting duties.
Express that an action or thing accomplishes nothing.
Means 'it's useless' or 'it's no use', implying that doing something yields no result.
I have nothing to do, so let's go for a walk.
What do you do when you have nothing to do?
It's better to do nothing for now.
He decided to do nothing.
Means to leave something alone or not interfere; doing nothing about a situation.
Let's just leave that problem alone (do nothing about it).
Please leave him alone (don't do anything to him).
Literally 'not put out a hand', meaning to not get involved or not take action.
Don't do anything; it's dangerous.
Formal term for watching the situation without taking action; 'wait-and-see' approach.
The authorities are doing nothing but watching the situation.
He's slacking off at work (doing nothing).
Stop doing nothing and study!
Colloquial term for loafing around, being a lazybones.
On my days off I end up doing nothing but lazing around.
Describes being sluggish or doing something in a lazy, drawn-out manner; often implies wasting time.
Stop doing nothing and hurry up!
Apologizing now is doing nothing; it's useless.
Literally 'there is no meaning', often used to say that doing something is pointless.
Doing that is doing nothing; it's meaningless.
doing nothing
暇 (hima) is a noun/adjective meaning 'free time' or 'having nothing to do', often with a nuance of boredom. 何もしていない is a verb phrase meaning 'not doing anything' and is more neutral. Use 暇 when you want to emphasize availability or boredom, and 何もしていない when simply stating inactivity.