muri

Muri is a term most commonly encountered in Japanese, written with the kanji 無理 and pronounced muri. It is typically translated as "impossible" or "unreasonable," and is used to describe something that cannot be done under the given circumstances, beyond a person’s ability, or lacking in sufficient logic or feasibility. The word is formed from mu, meaning not or without, and ri, related to logic or reason, giving the sense of “not within reason.”

In everyday Japanese, muri appears in a range of expressions. A simple statement like それは無理です (Sore wa muri desu) means “That’s impossible.” Other common phrases include 無理をする (muri o suru), meaning to push oneself too hard or to go beyond one’s limits; 無理を言う (muri o iu), meaning to make an unreasonable demand; and 無理やり (muri-yari), meaning to do something by force or coercion. The term can also be used more casually to convey that something is likely unattainable, as in ちょっと無理かも (Chotto muri kamo), “That might be a bit much.”

As a transliterated form, muri may appear as a proper noun in various contexts outside Japanese, including place names or personal names in different languages. In these cases, its meaning is not tied to the Japanese concept of impossibility.

In summary, muri in Japanese centers on the idea of infeasibility or unreasonableness, expressed through practical limits, capacity, or logic, and it features in a broad spectrum of everyday speech and idiomatic expressions.