King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “ski”

Romaji: suberu
to slide; to glide; to skate; to ski

In Japanese, ski is , read (suberu).

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. v5r, vi to slide; to glide; to skate; to ski
  2. v5r, vi to slip; to skid
  3. v5r, vi to be slippery
  4. v5r, vi, vt to fail (an examination)
  5. v5r, vi, vt to lose (a position); to be demoted
  6. v5r, vi to bomb (when telling a joke); to fall flat

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

slippery, slide, slip
on: カツ、コツ
kun: すべ.る、なめ.らか
13 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “ski”

WordReadingMeaning
スキー sukiiski; skis
スキーのいた sukiinoitaski; skis
スキーいた sukiiitaski; skis
かたりんそうこう katarinsoukoudriving on two wheels; ski (driving stunt); skiing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
えんかつ enkatsusmooth; undisturbed; uninterrupted
なめらか namerakasmooth (of a surface); glassy; velvety
かっそう kassougliding; sliding; skating (on ice)
ぬめり numerislime; sliminess; mucus
こっけい kokkeifunny; comical; humorous

See also: Chinese symbol for “ski”.

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.