King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “irrelevant”

Romaji: muen
unrelated; unconnected; irrelevant; indifferent

In Japanese, irrelevant is , read (muen).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. adj-na, adj-no, n unrelated; unconnected; irrelevant; indifferent; divorced from; having nothing to do with one
  2. adj-no, n without relations (esp. of a deceased person); having no surviving relatives
  3. adj-no, n unrelated to the teachings of Buddha; unable to be saved by Buddha (Buddh)

Kanji and stroke order

nothingness, none, ain't
on: ム、ブ
kun: な.い
12 strokes · JLPT 2
affinity, relation, connection
on: エン、-ネン
kun: ふち、ふち.どる、ゆかり、よすが
15 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “irrelevant”

WordReadingMeaning
まとはずれ matohazureoff the mark; off base; misdirected
ろんがい rongaiirrelevant; not pertinent
ようりょうをえない youryouoenaiirrelevant; vague; beside the mark
けんとうちがい kentouchigaiwrong (guess or estimate); misdirected; irrelevant
かんけいがない kankeiganaiunrelated; irrelevant; unconcerned

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
むりょう muryoufree (of charge); gratuitous
むり muriunreasonable; unnatural; unjustifiable
ぶじ bujisafety; security; peace
むだ mudafutility; waste; uselessness
むせん musenradio (communication)
むりやり muriyariforcibly; by force; against one's will
えんぎ engiomen; sign of luck
けつえん ketsuenblood relationship; consanguinity

See also: Chinese symbol for “irrelevant”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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