無我夢中(むがむちゅう)

むがむちゅう
na-adjective, noun
being absorbed, completely engrossed
1. being absorbed, completely engrossed, in a trance
A state of being so focused or involved in something that one loses self-awareness.
無我夢中(むがむちゅう)で走(はし)り続(つづ)けた。
I kept running, completely absorbed in the moment.
子供(こども)たちは無我夢中(むがむちゅう)で遊(あそ)んでいた。
The children were playing, completely engrossed.
無我夢中(むがむちゅう)になって仕事(しごと)をした。
I threw myself into work wholeheartedly.

A four-character idiom (四字熟語(よじじゅくご)) describing a state of total absorption where one loses self-awareness.

ETYMOLOGY:
無我(むが) (selflessness, no-self — a Buddhist concept) + 夢中(むちゅう) (absorbed, in a dream). Together: losing oneself completely in something.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 無我夢中(むがむちゅう)で〜する: to do something in a state of total absorption
  • 無我夢中(むがむちゅう)になる: to become completely engrossed
  • 無我夢中(むがむちゅう)で走(はし)る: to run in a frenzy (without thinking)

USAGE:
Often implies urgency or intensity — being so caught up in something that you act without conscious thought. Commonly used for running, working, playing, or fleeing.

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 夢中(むちゅう): absorbed, engrossed (simpler, more common)
  • 一心不乱(いっしんふらん): single-minded concentration (more deliberate, focused)
  • 没頭(ぼっとう)する: to be immersed in (more intellectual, sustained)

Related Words

Synonym: 夢中(むちゅう) (absorbed, engrossed)
Synonym: 一心不乱(いっしんふらん) (single-minded concentration)
Related: 没頭(ぼっとう) (immersion, absorption)
general
Added 2026.1.16 17:36 · Revised 2026.4.14 20:19
05500/05661_mugamuchuu