Translation guide
Ways to express lack of activity, idleness, or dormancy in Japanese, from personal laziness to machine idle states.
Describing a person not doing anything productive, being lazy, or inactive by choice.
Formal noun meaning laziness or idleness. Often used in written or serious contexts.
彼の怠惰が問題だ。
His laziness is a problem.
Literally 'do nothing'. A natural, everyday way to say someone is inactive.
彼は休日は何もしない。
He does nothing on his days off.
Idleness or inactivity, often with a philosophical nuance. Rare in daily conversation.
無為に日々を過ごす。
Spend one's days in idleness.
Describing machines, systems, or natural things that are not active or in a resting state.
Suspension or pause of activity, often for machines or services.
システムは現在休止中です。
The system is currently inactive.
Dormancy, like a sleeping state. Used for animals, plants, or sometimes accounts.
Inactivity in a technical sense, like a computer state. Not common in daily speech.
Describing a situation where nothing is happening, or a person is not moving.
Literally 'there is no movement'. Common for describing a lack of activity in a situation.
市場に動きがない。
There is no activity in the market.
Stillness, standstill. Often used for physical objects or graphs.
物体は静止している。
The object is at rest.
English 'inactivity' often becomes a phrase in Japanese. Using a direct noun like 不活動 (ふかつどう) can sound unnatural outside technical contexts. Instead, describe the state with verbs or adjectives.
彼は最近活動していない。
He has been inactive lately.
熊は冬の間休眠する。
Bears are dormant during winter.
非活動状態が続いている。
The inactive state continues.