惰性

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 惰性 is read as だせい and means either behavior continued through force of habit or physical motion continuing through inertia.
• Basic usage: Use 惰性で習慣を続ける for continuing a habit through inertia and 惰性で少し進む for a cart moving a little through momentum.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Distinction between 惰性 and 慣性
  • The headword applies both to physical inertia and to behavior continued from habit, while the comparison term is chiefly the physical principle of maintaining a state of motion.