腕 means “arm, skill”

うで · ude

Also: ability, talent

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

うで

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ワン

JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 12 strokes

The story

Flesh (月) and 宛, the 宛 of 宛名, the name you address a letter to: picture an arm stretched out to deliver it. 腕 is the arm, 腕時計 the watch on it, and a 腕のいい cook is a skilled one: in Japanese, ability lives in your arm.

Used in 腕時計 (udedokei, wristwatch), 腕前 (udemae, skill), and 腕相撲 (udezumou, arm wrestling)

More from The Human Body

• 毛 hair
• 肩 shoulder
• 腰 lower back
• 涙 tears
• 汗 sweat
• 肌 skin
• 胃 stomach
• 膚 skin
• 脳 brain
• 臓 internal organ
• 皮 skin
• 胸 chest

Learn 腕 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.