Meaning

Primary

Silence

Word Type

noun

Explanation

When you have nothing to say you sit in silence.

Reading

むごん
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You didn't learn this reading for though, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Nothing cuts through silence like a gong (ごん). Once it's done gonging you really notice how silent the world around you is.

Context

Context Sentences

毎晩無言電話がかかってくるんです。

Every night I get a silent prank phone call.

トーフグの社員たちは、無言でもくもくと仕事をしているように見えますが、実はスラックというアプリでチャットしています。

Tofugu workers seem to work silently, but they are actually chatting on an app called Slack.

知らないオッサンから急に母親ってのは自分の子どもに愛情を感じるものだろうとか説教されてさぁ、びっくりして無言になっちゃったよ。

Suddenly, some random guy started lecturing me about how mothers feel affection for their children, and it freaked me out so much I went completely silent.

Kanji Composition