無生物(むせいぶつ)

Composed of 無(む) (without, non-) + 生物(せいぶつ) (living thing). Used in science, philosophy, and language education.

Common collocations

• 無生物(むせいぶつ)主語(しゅご): inanimate subject (grammar term, important in Japanese-English translation studies)
• 無生物(むせいぶつ)の世界(せかい): the inanimate world
• 生物(せいぶつ)と無生物(むせいぶつ): living and non-living things

Language note

The term 無生物(むせいぶつ)主語(しゅご) is particularly important for Japanese learners of English, since English frequently uses inanimate subjects in active sentences (e.g., "The storm destroyed the town") while Japanese tends to rephrase such sentences with human agents or passive constructions.

Similar words

• 生物(せいぶつ): living thing — the antonym
• 物体(ぶったい): physical object, body — refers to any material object regardless of whether it is alive