競争力（きょうそうりょく、kyousoうryoku）
- competitiveness

The Japanese word 競争力, pronounced きょうそうりょく (kyousouryoku), means "competitiveness" or "competitive ability." It refers to the capacity of an individual, a company, a product, or even a nation to compete successfully in a market or field. It encompasses the strengths and advantages that allow something to outperform its rivals. This can include factors like efficiency, innovation, quality, pricing, and marketing. Basically, 競争力 is the ability to win or succeed in a competitive environment.

⚫︎ 日本企業の競争力 Translation: The competitiveness of Japanese companies. ⚫︎ あの商品の競争力］は価格と品質のバランスが良い。 Translation: That product has good competitiveness due to its balance of price and quality. ⚫︎ 世界の経済競争力ランキング Translation: World economic competitiveness rankings.

You can use 競争力 when discussing: ⚫︎ The ability of a company to withstand competition in its industry. ⚫︎ The advantages a product or service has over its competitors. ⚫︎ The overall strength of a nation's economy. ⚫︎ An individual's skills or qualities that enable them to succeed. In conversation, you would use 競争力 to describe how well something or someone can perform in a competitive situation.

競争力 is typically written with the kanji 競争 (kyousou - competition) and the kanji 力 (chikara/ryoku - power, ability, force). ⚫︎ Hiragana: きょうそうりょく ⚫︎ Kanji: 競争力 There are no other common ways to write this word. The okurigana (hiragana suffixes) are fixed.

⚫︎ 競争優位性 (kyousou yuusei) - Competitive advantage ⚫︎ 競争能力 (kyousou nouryoku) - Competitive ability ⚫︎ 強み (tsuyomi) - Strength ⚫︎ 優位性 (yuusei) - Superiority

⚫︎ 弱み (yowami) - Weakness ⚫︎ 非競争力 (hi kyousouryoku) - Non-competitiveness (although this is less commonly used)

その会社は、高い技術力と優れたサービスで市場での競争力を高めている。 ・Translation: That company is increasing its competitiveness in the market with its high technical ability and excellent service. ・Explanation: This sentence explains how a company utilizes its strengths to enhance its competitiveness.

日本の製造業は、かつて世界的に高い競争力を持っていた。 ・Translation: Japanese manufacturing once had high competitiveness globally. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the historical competitiveness of Japanese manufacturing.

The word 競争力 is a compound word. 競争 (kyousou) comes from the combination of 競 (kyou - compete, contend) and 争 (sou - fight, struggle). 力 (ryoku) means "power" or "ability." Thus, 競争力 directly translates to "competition power" or "competitive ability."