What does “ぼーっとする” (bōtto suru) mean in Japanese?

ぼーっとする is what your brain does on a lazy afternoon — not sleeping, not really thinking, just drifting with a blank mind. It’s built from the mimetic word ぼーっと (a hazy, unfocused feeling) plus する (“to do”) — literally “to do a spaced-out state.” In this clip, a rainy-day monologue uses it for exactly that mood: sipping coffee by the window, staring outside — and the speaker even pauses to define it on the spot.

As the clip itself puts it, ぼーっとする means relaxing without thinking about anything — 何も考えずにゆっくりする. It’s a favorite word for describing deliberate, guilt-free idleness: staring at rain, riding a train with no destination in mind, or just doing nothing on a day off.