Translation guide
Describes someone who is skilled, talented, or capable. Japanese has several common words for this, each with different nuances and levels of formality.
To refer to someone who is competent, skilled, or talented in a general sense.
A very common, slightly casual way to say 'competent person'. Often used in workplace contexts.
あの人は本当にできる人だね。
That person is really capable, isn't he?
A more formal, written term for 'person of ability'. Often used in business or official contexts.
会社は有能者を求めている。
The company is seeking persons of ability.
To emphasize natural talent or giftedness rather than just competence.
Literally 'person with talent'. A natural way to describe someone with innate ability.
彼女は才能のある人です。
She is a person of ability (talented).
A slightly more formal and weighty term, often used in written descriptions or evaluations.
彼は有能な人物として知られている。
He is known as a person of ability.
To refer to someone with specialized skills or expertise.
Means 'excellent person', often implying high ability and performance. Common in academic and professional settings.
彼は優秀な人材だ。
He is a person of ability (excellent human resource).
Means 'master' or 'expert'. Used for someone who has reached a high level of skill in a particular field.
彼は料理の達人だ。
He is a master of cooking (a person of ability in cooking).
有能 (yūnō) is more formal and often used in writing or evaluations. できる (dekiru) is casual and commonly used in spoken Japanese to describe someone who is competent or gets things done.
The phrase 'person of ability' is not a direct idiom in Japanese. It's better to use the adjectives and nouns above rather than trying to translate word-for-word.