Japanese symbol for “competence”
腕
うで
Romaji: ude
arm
In Japanese, competence is 腕, read うで (ude).
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.
Meanings
- n arm
- n ability; skill; talent; competence
- n (physical) strength
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “competence”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 敏腕 | びんわん binwan | ability; capability; competence |
| 慣熟 | かんじゅく kanjuku | proficiency; mastery; competence |
| 応答能 | おうとうのう outounou | competence |
| 言語能力 | げんごのうりょく gengonouryoku | (linguistic) competence; language capability |
| コンピテンス | コンピテンス konpitensu | competence |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腕時計 | うでどけい udedokei | wristwatch; watch |
| 腕前 | うでまえ udemae | ability; skill; facility |
| 右腕 | みぎうで migiude | right arm |
| 左腕 | ひだりうで hidariude | left arm |
| 手腕 | しゅわん shuwan | ability; capability; skill |
| 腕力 | わんりょく wanryoku | strength in one's arms; physical strength; muscular strength |
See also: Chinese symbol for “competence”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.