The kanji 腕 means "arm" or "forearm". It refers to the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the wrist, including the elbow. The meaning extends to include skill or ability, often used metaphorically to describe someone's capabilities.

・On-yomi (音読み): ワン (wan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): うで (ude)

⚫︎ 腕がいい Translation: Skilled; skillful; good at something. ⚫︎ 腕立て伏せ Translation: Push-ups. ⚫︎ 右腕 Translation: Right-hand man; main supporter.

The kanji 腕 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is 月 (moon radical), which is the simplified form of 肉 (flesh, meat). This part indicates the semantic component, relating to the body. The right side is 宛 (wan), which contributes the phonetic sound (wan) and provides a clue to the pronunciation. Therefore, the kanji originally represented the human arm.