上手

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 日本語が上手ですね。▶ —
   Your Japanese is good.
2. 料理が上手だ。▶ —
   I am good at cooking.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Jouzu (上手) is the na-adjective for "skilled / good at." The kanji 上 (upper) plus 手 (hand) reads as "high-level hand," skilled. Paired with heta (unskilled). Pattern: "X ga jouzu" (good at X) follows the Japanese "object = ga" logic learned with hoshii, suki, and wakaru. "Nihongo ga jouzu desu" (your Japanese is good) is the canonical line Japanese deploy with foreign learners. Cultural code o-jouzu (お上手) trap: Japanese praise even one or two Japanese sentences from foreigners with "o-jouzu desu ne" or "jouzu desu ne." This is often more polite formula than real praise. Foreign learners hearing o-jouzu may misread it as "my Japanese is excellent." Japans kenson (謙遜, humility) code expects a deflection — "iie mada mada desu" (no, still long way to go) — while elevating the other. Korean jalhada, Chinese shanchang, and English "skilled / good at" parallel, but Japanese jouzu carries finer nuance through speaker-listener relations and kenson. Umai (上手い, informal i-adjective variant) is for friends and equals; jouzu is polite; o-jouzu is very polite. JLPT N5 jouzu integrates with this cultural code.

Quick check

1. Correct reply when a Japanese says "your Japanese is good" to a foreigner?

   • "Iie mada mada desu" (still long way to go) — the kenson code
   • "Arigatou" (thanks)
   • "Sou desu ne" (right)
   • "Shitte imasu" (I know)