不毛

• 読み: ふもう
• ローマ字: fumo
• 漢字の分解: 不 (fu) — negation; 毛 (mou/ke) — hair, vegetation
• 発音: /ɸɯ.mo.ː/

意味

Barren; sterile; futile; unproductive. Describes land that cannot grow crops, or efforts and discussions that yield no results.

A na-adjective with both literal and figurative uses. Literally refers to land that cannot sustain vegetation (不毛の地, barren land). Figuratively, 不毛な議論 (unproductive debate) and 不毛な努力 (futile effort) describe activities that consume energy without achieving results. The figurative use is very common in modern Japanese discourse.

例文

1. 砂漠のような不毛の土地を緑地に変える大規模なプロジェクトが始まった。
2. 双方が譲らないまま繰り返される不毛な議論に、参加者は疲弊した。
3. 互いの主張を並べるだけでは不毛だ。解決策を探ることが大切だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: environment, debate, work, social criticism, philosophy

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

From 不 (fu, not/un-) and 毛 (mou/ke, hair/fur/vegetation). Literally 'without hair/vegetation' — evokes the image of bare, lifeless ground. Extended figuratively to anything that produces nothing valuable. Used in both concrete agricultural and abstract intellectual contexts.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal