腕 — “Arm / Ability / Talent” in Japanese

Master (高手)わん, うで

Radical ⾁ · radical 130 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Arm / Ability / Talent” in Japanese is 腕, read wan, ude (わん, うで). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 腕前 (skill).

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What does 腕 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	腕
Meaning	Arm / Ability / Talent
Readings	わん, うで
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	腕前 (skill)

How to read 腕

腕 is read wan (わん) or ude (うで) depending on the word.

Words with 腕

腕前

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Updated: 2026-08-28