Japanese symbol for “merits”
優劣
ゆうれつ
Romaji: yuuretsu
(relative) merits; superiority or inferiority; quality
In Japanese, merits is 優劣, read ゆうれつ (yuuretsu).
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 (relative) merits; superiority or inferiority; quality
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “merits”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勲功 | くんこう kunkou | merits; distinguished services |
| 事績 | じせき jiseki | achievement; deed; exploit |
| 曲直 | きょくちょく kyokuchoku | merits (of a case); right or wrong |
| 本案 | ほんあん hon'an | merits |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 優勝 | ゆうしょう yuushou | overall victory; championship; winning the title |
| 女優 | じょゆう joyuu | actress; female actor |
| 優先 | ゆうせん yuusen | preference; priority; precedence |
| 優秀 | ゆうしゅう yuushuu | superior; excellent; brilliant |
| 俳優 | はいゆう haiyuu | actor; actress; player |
| 優しい | やさしい yasashii | tender; kind; gentle |
| 劣化 | れっか rekka | deterioration (in quality, performance, etc.); degradation; worsening |
| 劣る | おとる otoru | to be inferior to; to be less good at; to fall behind |
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.