ミュート

• Reading: ミュート
• Romaji: myūto
• Kanji breakdown: From English 'mute' — to silence someone's posts without them knowing
• Pronunciation: /mjuː.to/

Meaning

To mute someone on social media — hiding their posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking them.

ミュート (from English 'mute') is a softer alternative to blocking. When you ミュート someone, they do not know they have been muted — their posts simply stop appearing in your feed. This is often used for acquaintances whose posts are annoying but who you cannot block without social consequences. In Japanese internet culture, ミュート is seen as a diplomatic solution — you maintain the surface-level connection while protecting your mental health. ミュートワード (mute words) to filter out specific topics is also common.

Examples

1. 政治の話ばっかりだからミュートした。 All they post about is politics so I muted them.
2. ミュートしてるのバレたらまずいかな。 Would it be bad if they found out I muted them?
3. ネタバレ防止でキーワードミュートしてる。 I've got keyword muting set up to avoid spoilers.

Usage Guide

Context: social media, Twitter/X, online discussion

Tone: neutral, diplomatic

Do Say

• ブロックまではしないけどミュートはしてる。 (I won't go as far as blocking, but I've got them muted.)
• ミュートワード設定しておくと快適。 (Setting up mute words makes your timeline much more comfortable.)

Don't Say

• 本人の前で「ミュートしてる」と言う (Don't tell someone to their face that you've muted them)

Common Mistakes

• Thinking ミュート and ブロック are the same — muting is invisible to the other person, blocking is not
• Not knowing ミュートワード (mute words) as a feature to filter specific topics from your timeline

Origin & History

From English 'mute.' Became common in Japanese social media vocabulary as platforms like Twitter introduced mute features in the mid-2010s. Preferred over blocking for its diplomatic subtlety.

Cultural Context

Era: Mid-2010s, with Twitter mute feature

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across Japan. Particularly valued in Japanese social media culture where avoiding direct confrontation is preferred.