Japanese symbol for “fortunate”
上手い
うまい
Romaji: umai
skillful; skilful; skilled; good
In Japanese, fortunate is 上手い, read うまい (umai).
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
- adj-i skillful; skilful; skilled; good; expert; clever (expression, trick, etc.)
- adj-i delicious; tasty; good; nice
- adj-i good (deal, idea, etc.); profitable; promising; lucky; fortunate; successful
Written forms: 上手い、美味い、旨い、巧い. Readings: うまい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “fortunate”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 幸ある | さちある sachiaru | fortunate; happy; lucky |
| 運がいい | うんがいい ungaii | lucky; fortunate |
| 間がいい | まがいい magaii | lucky; fortunate; timely |
| 運のいい | うんのいい unnoii | lucky; fortunate |
| 間のいい | まのいい manoii | lucky; fortunate; timely |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 以上 | いじょう ijou | not less than ...; ... and over; ... and above |
| 売り上げ | うりあげ uriage | amount sold; sales; proceeds |
| 上昇 | じょうしょう joushou | rising; ascending; climbing |
| 向上 | こうじょう koujou | elevation; rise; improvement |
| 上司 | じょうし joushi | (one's) superior; (one's) boss; the higher-ups |
| 地上 | ちじょう chijou | above ground; on the ground; earth's surface |
| 相手 | あいて aite | companion; partner; company |
| 選手 | せんしゅ senshu | player (of a sport); athlete; team member |
See also: Chinese symbol for “fortunate”.
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.