能 (のう, nou) Japanese meaning: ability

能 (のう, nou) Japanese meaning: ability | Kotomora

Kanji

能ability, talent, skill

Related words· 7

能のう力りょくN3sense 1
能力 is the everyday modern word for someone's ability or capacity, while 能 alone is more literary and mainly survives in fixed phrases.
能のう楽がく sense 2
能楽 is the broader formal term for the classical Noh performing-art tradition (often including kyōgen), while 能 refers specifically to the Noh plays themselves.
才さい能のうN3sense 1
才能 emphasizes innate talent or gift, especially in people, whereas 能 is a shorter, more abstract term for ability or usefulness.
機き能のうN3sense 1
機能 is the standard modern word for the function of a machine, organ, or system, while 能 in this sense is older and less explicit.

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歌か舞ぶ伎きN3
能 is a more austere, masked musical drama, while 歌舞伎 is flamboyant and colorful in style and costume.
神楽かぐら
能 is a classical masked drama with slow, stylized movement performed on a Noh stage, while 神楽 is a livelier Shinto ritual dance and music offered to the gods.
謡うたい
能 refers to the whole noh theater art form including dance and music, whereas 謡 names only the vocal chanting part of it.

Opposites

無む能のうN1sense 1
能 refers to ability or usefulness, while 無能 describes someone or something as lacking ability, i.e. incompetent.
狂きょう言げん
能 is the serious, symbolic Noh drama, while 狂言 is its comic counterpart traditionally performed between Noh acts.

Don't confuse with

脳のうN1
能 (ability/Noh theatre) and 脳 (brain) are pronounced identically but refer to completely different things, so context or kanji is needed to tell them apart.
農のう
能 (ability/Noh theatre) and 農 (agriculture, as in 農業) share the same reading のう but have unrelated meanings, so learners can mishear or misread one for the other.
謡よう曲きょく
能 is the entire noh theatrical performance, whereas 謡曲 is only the sung or chanted vocal part within it.

Word family· 102

可か能のうN3
possible; feasible
機き能のうN3
function; capability; feature
能のう力りょくN3
ability; capability; faculty
性せい能のうN2

Written forms

能のうUsage99%
Standard kanji spelling and the high-priority form. The kana spelling のう is just the reading here, not a separate practical written form for this word.
のうUsage1%

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese noun read のう. The kanji 能 is conventionally associated with ability or capacity and is also the standard spelling for the traditional theatre form Noh; no detailed historical derivation is specified.

能のう

Meanings

Expressions· 9