達人
tatsujin[ta̠t͡sɨʑĩɴ]
The English word maven is translated into Japanese as 達人 (tatsujin).
達人 is used to describe someone who has reached a high level of mastery or skill in a specific discipline, such as martial arts, crafts or a specific technical skill.
Meaning: expert in a given field (noun)
Which one should you use?
While 達人 implies a high level of physical or practical mastery, 専門家 is used for professional experts or specialists in academic or technical fields.
How do you pronounce it?
tatsujin
Did you know?
- The word 達人 is frequently used in Japanese pop culture to describe 'masters' of oddly specific or mundane skills, such as a 'master' of eating huge amounts of food or a 'master' of folding laundry.
- The character 達 in 達人 literally means 'to reach' or 'to arrive', suggesting that a maven is someone who has finally 'arrived' at a certain level of proficiency.
- While 達人 refers to the mastery of a skill, Japanese has a separate term 名人 (meijin) specifically for those who have reached a legendary status in traditional games like Go or Shogi.
Examples in context
- 例えば、彼はIT分野の玄人だ。For example, he is an IT maven.
- 彼女はファッションのエキスパートだ。She is a fashion maven.
- 彼は寿司の達人だ。He is a master of sushi.
- 彼は包丁の達人だ。Kare wa hocho no tatsujin da.He is a master of kitchen knives.
- あのおじいさんは囲碁の達人です。Ano ojiisan wa igo no tatsujin desu.That old man is an expert at Go.
- 彼女はメイクの達人だと言われている。Kanojo wa meiku no tatsujin da to iwarete iru.She is said to be an expert in makeup.
Example conversation
Daisho and Himari are talking about a friend's skill with computers.
- 大翔 Hiroto彼はパソコンの達人だよね。Kare wa pasokon no tatsujin da yo ne.He's a real computer maven, isn't he?
- 陽葵 Himari本当だね。何でも直せるよ。Hontō da ne. Nan demo naoseru yo.True. He can fix anything.
- 大翔 Hiroto今度、使い方を教えてもらおうか。Kondo, tsukaikata o oshiete moraō ka.Shall we ask him to teach us how to use it next time?
- 陽葵 Himariいい考えだね。大翔、お願いして。Ii kangae da ne. Daisho, onegai shite.That's a good idea. Daisho, please ask him.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 達人, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
