むら
Meanings
unevenness; patchiness; blotchiness
Refers to physical unevenness in color, paint, coating, or surface finish. Often used in contexts like painting, printing, or cooking.
The paint on the wall is uneven.
This print has noticeable color unevenness.
inconsistency; variability; unevenness
Used for abstract unevenness in quality, results, performance, or behavior. Implies lack of uniformity or stability.
His grades are inconsistent.
This team's performance is uneven.
fickleness; capriciousness; fitfulness
Describes a person's mood, effort, or attention that fluctuates unpredictably. Often used with words like 気分 (mood) or 性格 (personality).
She is moody (her mood is changeable).
That person's work is inconsistent (sometimes good, sometimes bad), which is a problem.
Usage patterns
- 〈物〉にむらがあるthere is unevenness in ~ (color, finish, etc.)
There's uneven patchiness in how the paint was applied to this wall.
- 〈事〉にむらがあるthere is inconsistency in ~ (results, quality, performance)
The quality of his work is inconsistent.
- 気分にむらがあるto have moods that swing unpredictably
She has such unpredictable moods that she's hard to deal with.
- むらなく〈動詞〉to do ~ evenly, without unevenness
It's hard to apply paint evenly, without patches.
- むらをなくすto eliminate unevenness
To get rid of uneven patches in the paint job, it helps to apply thin coats repeatedly.