Translation guide
Ways to express lack of activity, idleness, or dormancy in Japanese, from personal laziness to machine idle states.
Describing a person not doing anything productive, being lazy, or inactive by choice.
Describing machines, systems, or natural things that are not active or in a resting state.
Suspension or pause of activity, often for machines or services.
Describing a situation where nothing is happening, or a person is not moving.
English 'inactivity' often becomes a phrase in Japanese. Using a direct noun like 不活動 (ふかつどう) can sound unnatural outside technical contexts. Instead, describe the state with verbs or adjectives.
彼は最近活動していない。
He has been inactive lately.
His laziness is a problem.
Literally 'do nothing'. A natural, everyday way to say someone is inactive.
彼は休日は何もしない。
He does nothing on his days off.
Idleness or inactivity, often with a philosophical nuance. Rare in daily conversation.
無為に日々を過ごす。
Spend one's days in idleness.
システムは現在休止中です。
The system is currently inactive.
Dormancy, like a sleeping state. Used for animals, plants, or sometimes accounts.
熊は冬の間休眠する。
Bears are dormant during winter.
Inactivity in a technical sense, like a computer state. Not common in daily speech.
非活動状態が続いている。
The inactive state continues.
Stillness, standstill. Often used for physical objects or graphs.
物体は静止している。
The object is at rest.