The Meaning of muri [無理] In Japanese
無理
むり
Romaji: muri
N4
What does 無理 mean?
Translation and Meaning
impossible, unreasonable, beyond one’s power
Definition
What does 無理 mean? It means something is impossible or beyond one’s power. It denotes infeasibility, excessive demands, or impractical expectations, and is used to express that a task or request cannot reasonably be fulfilled in a given situation.
Type
na-adjective (形容動詞)
Stroke Order
Meanings
- Impossibility or lack of feasibility
- Unrealistic or impractical demands or goals
- Unreasonable or illogical expectations
- Overextension or pushing beyond available resources
Etymology
無 and 理 form a kanji compound whose readings combine to produce muri; the word is read with on’yomi for both characters in compounds, yielding muri in modern usage.
Origin
Classical Japanese usage predates modern textbooks, appearing in premodern literature to denote lack of feasibility.
Composition
- 無 — nothing, not; 理 — reason, logic; together they express absence of logic or feasibility, giving the sense of no way to do something
Usage
Used to describe situations that are beyond capacity or feasibility, often with だ/です for assertion; with する to indicate overdoing something; common in both casual and formal contexts; patterns include 無理だ, 無理です, 無理をする, 無理を言う.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: picture a bold MU stamp crossing out RI (reason) to remember that 無理 signals no reason or no way to proceed.
Variations
- Impossibility or lack of feasibility — muri
- Unrealistic or impractical — higenjitsuteki
- Possible (antonym) — kanou
Words with the same Kanji
Example Phrases
-
今日は この プラン は 無理 だ と 思う。Kyou wa kono puran wa muri da to omou.I think this plan is impossible today.Lista:
- 今日は (kyou wa) – today
- この (kono) – this
- プラン (puran) – plan
- は (wa) – topic marker
- 無理 (muri) – impossible
- だ (da) – is
- と (to) – that
- 思う (omou) – think
In this sentence, 「無理」 is a noun meaning ‘impossible’ and is used with the copula だ to express ‘it’s impossible’.
