Chinese symbol for “ability”
才
cái
ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then
The closest CC-CEDICT match for ability is 才 (cái), defined as: ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “ability”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 本事 | běn shi | ability; skill |
| 能耐 | néng nài | ability; capability |
| 能 | néng | can; to be able to |
| 才干 (才幹) | cái gàn | ability; competence |
| 能力 | néng lì | capability; ability |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 才.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 才能 | cái néng | talent; ability |
| 人才 | rén cái | talent; talented person |
| 刚才 (剛才) | gāng cái | just now; a moment ago |
| 天才 | tiān cái | talent; gift |
| 才华 (才華) | cái huá | talent; measure word: 份 (fèn) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “ability”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.