Translation guide
The act of speaking quietly and unclearly, often to oneself, expressing thoughts, complaints, or asides.
To say something quietly, often as a soliloquy or thinking out loud, not necessarily meant for others to hear.
To mutter, murmur, or tweet (as in social media). Commonly used for speaking one's thoughts aloud quietly, often in a reflective or complaining manner.
He muttered something.
To mutter to oneself.
Noun form: a mutter, murmur, or tweet. Often used for quiet, personal remarks.
I could hear his muttering.
Literally 'to say a monologue'. Emphasizes talking to oneself, often used when someone is caught muttering.
He often mutters to himself.
To express dissatisfaction or annoyance in a low, indistinct voice, often so others don't clearly hear.
To grumble, mutter complaints. Onomatopoeic, suggesting a low, continuous murmuring of discontent.
He was muttering complaints.
Stop muttering.
To grumble, complain, or mutter in a discontented way. More casual than ぶつぶつ言う.
To complain, grumble, or whine. Often used for venting frustrations, not necessarily quietly, but can be muttered.
To say something quietly and unclearly, making it hard for others to hear or understand, possibly in conversation.
Describing the sound of low, continuous, indistinct talking, like a murmur of a crowd.
Onomatopoeia for a murmuring or buzzing sound, like a crowd muttering. Often used for background noise.
The classroom was filled with muttering.
Onomatopoeia for noisy chatter or hubbub, louder than ざわざわ, but can imply muttering in a group.
呟く (tsubuyaku) is neutral and often used for thinking aloud or tweeting. ぶつぶつ言う (butsubutsu iu) implies grumbling or complaining. もごもご言う (mogomogo iu) focuses on unclear articulation, like mumbling with food in mouth or shyness.
English often uses 'muttering' as a gerund. In Japanese, it's more natural to use a verb phrase or onomatopoeia. For example, 'His muttering annoyed me' is better as 彼のぶつぶつ言うのがうるさかった rather than a direct noun translation.
彼はいつも何かぼやいている。
He's always muttering about something.
彼女は仕事の愚痴をこぼしていた。
She was muttering complaints about work.
She muttered 'goodbye'.
会場はがやがやしていた。
The venue was filled with muttering and chatter.