# 麻木不仁

má mù bù rén

Be emotionally insensitive or indifferent

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Be numb and unable to feel

**Register:** Critical · general

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Criticize failure to respond to suffering or wrongdoing.

Can reflect exhaustion; do not assume a lack of character from one reaction.

## Understanding the expression

Physical numbness becomes an image for a heart that no longer responds. The expression often criticizes indifference to other people's suffering or to repeated wrongdoing. It can also suggest that constant exposure has dulled someone's reaction. Context matters because exhaustion and shock may look like indifference. A careful sentence shows the neglected need or harmful pattern without pretending to diagnose the person's inner feelings from one quiet expression alone.

## Examples

他对受害者的痛苦麻木不仁。

### Traditional Chinese

他對受害者的痛苦麻木不仁。

tā duì shòu hài zhě de tòng kǔ má mù bù rén 。

He is indifferent to the victims' suffering.

不能对校园欺凌麻木不仁。

### Traditional Chinese

不能對校園欺凌麻木不仁。

bù néng duì xiào yuán qī líng má mù bù rén 。

We must not be indifferent to school bullying.

习惯忽略小组的需要后，她担心自己变得麻木不仁。

### Traditional Chinese

習慣忽略小組的需要後，她擔心自己變得麻木不仁。

xí guàn hū lüè xiǎo zǔ de xū yào hòu ， tā dān xīn zì jǐ biàn de má mù bù rén 。

After often overlooking the group's needs, she worried that she was becoming insensitive.

他的冷漠回应显得麻木不仁。

### Traditional Chinese

他的冷漠回應顯得麻木不仁。

tā de lěng mò huí yìng xiǎn de má mù bù rén 。

His cold response seemed insensitive.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%BA%BB%E6%9C%A8%E4%B8%8D%E4%BB%81)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=575&webMd=1&la=0)

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