How to say "transient" in Japanese

• 徒あだCommon
  na-adjective, nounCovers 'transient' only in the sense of fleeting and empty — things that come to nothing. Its core meaning is vain, futile, frivolous, so it is seldom the word you want for plain transience.
• はかないJLPT N1approx.Common
  i-adjectiveThe usual word for the emotional sense of 'transient': fleeting, short-lived things — dreams, beauty, life itself — that vanish quickly and leave a sense of pathos. Usually written in kana alone.
  人生じんせいは儚はかないよ、と人ひとは言ゆう。↗

  People say that life is short.
• 過渡かとCommon
  nounThe technical 'transient': an intermediate, changing state between one condition and the next, found in scientific and engineering usage — transitional rather than emotional, not the word for fleeting beauty or feelings.
• 無常むじょうCommon
  no-adjective, na-adjectiveCovers the philosophical sense: the impermanence of all things — life, the world, fortune — ever-changing and uncertain, nothing lasting. Used when reflecting on transience itself rather than describing one short-lived thing.

Use 「はかない」 for the emotional sense of fleeting and short-lived, 過渡 for technical transitional states, 無常 for the impermanence of life and the world, and 徒 mainly for what is vain and futile rather than simply transient.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 徒あだvain
• はかないfleeting
• トランジェントtransient
• 一過性いっかせいtransient (symptom, phenomenon)
• 泡沫的ほうまつてきtransient
• 過渡現象かとげんしょうtransient
• 泡沫夢幻ほうまつむげんtransient
• 夢幻泡沫むげんほうまつtransient
• 非常駐ひじょうちゅうtransient
• 遷流せんるtransient
• かりそめtemporary
• 定めないさだめないuncertain
• あえないdisappointing (end, result, etc.)
• 過渡かとtransient
• 無常むじょうmutable
• 泡沫うたかたephemeral
• 行きずりゆきずりcasual (e.g. romance)
• 通り一遍とおりいっぺんchance (e.g. customer)