King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “skillful”

Romaji: jouzu
skillful; skilled; proficient; good (at)

In Japanese, skillful is , read (jouzu).

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 skillful; skilled; proficient; good (at); adept; clever
  2. n flattery

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

above, up
on: ジョウ、ショウ、シャン
kun: うえ、-うえ、うわ-、かみ
3 strokes · JLPT 4
hand
on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-
4 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “skillful”

WordReadingMeaning
たくみ takumiskillful; adroit; dexterous
きよう kiyouskillful; skilful; adroit
うまい umaiskillful; skilful; skilled
こうみょう koumyouingenious; skillful; clever
たんのう tannouproficient; skilled; skillful

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いじょう ijounot less than ...; ... and over; ... and above
うりあげ uriageamount sold; sales; proceeds
じょうしょう joushourising; ascending; climbing
こうじょう koujouelevation; rise; improvement
じょうし joushi(one's) superior; (one's) boss; the higher-ups
ちじょう chijouabove ground; on the ground; earth's surface
あいて aitecompanion; partner; company
せんしゅ senshuplayer (of a sport); athlete; team member

See also: Chinese symbol for “skillful”.

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.

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