soft skill

Meanings

nounsoft skill (plural soft skills)

human resourcesA personal skill that is usually interpersonal, nonspecialized, and difficult to quantify, such as leadership or responsibility.
Near-synonyms: social graces, social skills, people skills
Synonyms: social grace, social skills, people skills

nounA personal skill that is usually interpersonal, nonspecialized, and difficult to quantify, such as leadership or responsibility.

Also see

Coined by the U.S. Army in the late 1960s, referring to any skill that does not employ the use of machinery.

Chinese Mandarin 軟技能 /软技能

軟技能 /软技能 (ruǎnjìnéng)personal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Finnish yleispätevä taito, pehmeä taito

yleispätevä taitopersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify
pehmeä taitopersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

German soziale Kompetenz, Soft Skill

soziale Kompetenzpersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify
Soft Skillpersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Greek ήπια δεξιότητα

ήπια δεξιότητα (ípia dexiótita)personal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Indonesian keterampilan nonteknis, kompetensi nonteknis

keterampilan nonteknispersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify
kompetensi nonteknispersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Malay kemahiran insani

kemahiran insanipersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Polish umiejętności miękkie

umiejętności miękkiepersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Russian гибкий навык, надпрофессиональный навык

гибкий навык (gibkij navyk)personal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify
надпрофессиональный навык (nadprofessionalʹnyj navyk)personal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Turkish yumuşak beceri

yumuşak beceripersonal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify

Cite this entry

APA

soft skill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft%20skill

MLA

“soft skill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft%20skill. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “soft skill,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft%20skill.