na-adjective, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
idleness; inactivity; doing nothing
Often used in philosophical or literary contexts to describe a state of non-action or letting things take their natural course, but also used more generally for idleness or lack of activity.
He spent the whole day in idleness.
Sometimes it's necessary to spend time doing nothing.
I ended up spending the whole day idly, doing nothing.
Since retiring, he has been living an idle life.
My precious day off ended up going to waste.
無駄 focuses on something being wasteful or useless, whereas 無為 focuses simply on the absence of action.
安逸 describes comfortable idleness or ease, while 無為 more broadly covers inactivity or non-action, including in philosophical contexts.
無策 specifically means lacking any effective countermeasure or strategy, while 無為 describes idleness or passive inaction, often with a philosophical tone.
idling one's time away; living in idleness
do-nothing, plan-nothing; idle and without policy
boredom; ennui; tedium
idle and incompetent; accomplishing nothing and lacking ability
natural spontaneity; being oneself without artifice; taking things as they come · unconditioned nature; unconditioned spontaneity
do-nothing, plan-nothing; idle onlooker taking no steps
From Chinese 無為 (wúwéi), a key concept in Daoism meaning 'non-action' or 'effortless action'. The Japanese reading むい is the on'yomi.