上手(じょうず)

Forms

• Predicative: ～が上手(じょうず)です (to be good at ~)
• Attributive: 上手(じょうず)な + noun (上手(じょうず)な運転(うんてん), skillful driving)
• Adverbial: 上手(じょうず)に + verb (上手(じょうず)に話(はな)す, to speak well)
• Noun form: 上手(じょうず)さ (skillfulness)

Common patterns

～が上手(じょうず)です: "good at ~"

• 日本語(にほんご)が上手(じょうず)です (good at Japanese)
• 歌(うた)が上手(じょうず)です (good at singing)

Common expressions

• 上手(じょうず)になる: to become good at
• 上手(うま)く行(い)く: to go well (in this fixed phrase 上手(うま) is read うまく, never じょうずく)
• 聞(き)き上手(じょうず): good listener
• 話(はなし)上手(じょうず): good talker

Watch out

上手(じょうず) evaluates someone else's ability, so it is not normally used about oneself: 私(わたし)は料理(りょうり)が上手(じょうず)です sounds boastful. Say 得意(とくい)です (it is a strong point of mine) instead. For the same reason 上手(じょうず)ですね is the standard compliment to a learner, and the expected reply is いいえ、まだまだです rather than agreement.

Similar words

• 下手(へた): the opposite, unskillful.
• 得意(とくい): what one is good at and confident about; the natural word for oneself.
• 上手(うま)い: the casual spoken equivalent of 上手(じょうず); it also means "tasty", so context decides.