1.
skilled worker; experienced practitioner; expert
A person who has acquired a high level of skill through long practice or training, typically in a trade, craft, or technical field. Contrasted with 初心者 ('beginner') and 未熟者 ('an unskilled person').
熟練者の技。
The skill of an experienced craftsperson.
この作業は熟練者でないと難しい。
This task is difficult for anyone who isn't an experienced worker.
熟練者の不足が業界の大きな課題となっている。
A shortage of skilled workers has become a major challenge for the industry.
会社は若手の社員に熟練者の技術を伝えようと努めている。
The company is striving to pass on the skills of its experienced workers to younger employees.
Compound of 熟練 ('skill; expertise') and the suffix 者 ('person'). The 熟 component means 'ripe; matured,' giving the sense of skill that has been developed to full readiness.
USAGE:
Typically used in workplace, trade, and technical contexts — manufacturing, construction, craftsmanship, farming, cooking. Less natural for intellectual or artistic mastery, where 達人 ('master'), 名人 ('virtuoso'), or 専門家 ('specialist') is more idiomatic.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 熟練者の技: the skill of an experienced worker
- 熟練者の技術: the techniques of a skilled worker
- 熟練者不足: shortage of skilled workers
- 熟練者を育成する: to train skilled workers
- 熟練者でないと難しい: difficult without being an experienced worker
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 熟練工: skilled worker — specifically a skilled manual/factory worker
- 職人: craftsman; artisan — emphasizes traditional craft identity
- 専門家: specialist; expert — in a knowledge-based field
- 達人: master — used of martial arts, crafts, games at the highest level
- ベテラン: veteran — a loanword, emphasizes long experience more than technical skill
- 初心者: beginner — opposite
- 未熟者: unskilled person; greenhorn — opposite; also used humbly about oneself