King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “efficient”

Romaji: yuunou
able; capable; competent; talented

In Japanese, efficient is , read (yuunou).

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

  1. adj-na, n able; capable; competent; talented; efficient

Kanji and stroke order

possess, have, exist
on: ユウ、ウ
kun: あ.る
6 strokes · JLPT 3
ability, talent, skill
on: ノウ
kun: よ.く、あた.う
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “efficient”

WordReadingMeaning
こうりつてき kouritsutekiefficient
のうりつてき nouritsutekiefficient
むだのない mudanonaieconomical; efficient; lean

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ある aruto be; to exist; to live
ゆうめい yuumeifamous; well-known
しょゆう shoyuupossession; ownership
ゆうこう yuukouvalid; effective
ゆうりょう yuuryoufee-charging; paid; not free
ゆうり yuuriadvantageous; favourable; better
かのう kanoupossible; potential; practicable
きのう kinoufunction; facility; faculty

See also: Chinese symbol for “efficient”.

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.