Recently, the phrase "Nihongo Jyozu / Your Japanese is so good!" has become something of a meme online, often taken in a negative or sarcastic way. As a Japanese person, I find this trend quite sad, because in Japan, this phrase is genuinely meant as a sincere compliment.
When a non-native speaker uses Japanese, they will almost certainly hear "Your Japanese is so good!" from a Japanese person — regardless of whether their language skills are at a beginner or advanced level. The reason behind this is not about judging the speaker's fluency or grammatical accuracy. Rather, it’s about acknowledging the tremendous effort it takes to learn Japanese, a language even many Japanese people find extremely difficult.
In Japan, acquiring a foreign language, particularly English, is seen as very challenging. Despite years of studying English, relatively few Japanese people can speak it fluently. Because of this, we deeply admire anyone who puts in the effort to learn a difficult language like Japanese. So when we meet someone who speaks it, we naturally want to express our respect and encouragement.
Of course, some people may feel frustrated because they hear the same compliment regardless of their skill level. But the key point is that the compliment isn’t about how "perfect" your Japanese is — it’s about recognizing your hard work and courage in learning a new language.
Additionally, in Japanese culture, it’s common to find something positive to say about someone when first meeting them, as a way to create a friendly and warm atmosphere. Complimenting someone’s language skills is just like saying "You have a lovely outfit!" or "That's a beautiful bag!" It’s a basic and genuine part of how we build communication.
In any case, seeing "Your Japanese is so good!" treated as a joke or insult online feels disheartening. I hope you can understand that, from a Japanese perspective, it’s truly meant to be a positive, heartfelt expression.
by neu_gier
15 comments
日本のおべんちゃら文化が苦手な日本人としては、外国の日本語学習者たちのこうした反応の存在に気づいた頃とても共感を覚えました。
子供の頃、何をしても褒めとけば良いとばかりに褒めてくる大人達にうんざりしていた気持ちが蘇ってきます。
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been on the receiving end of this “compliment” and it rarely is a good thing. It often gives the impression that the Japanese person has completely ignored the content of what you are trying to communicate, because they are so stunned that you can speak. I’ve had many experiences of the question I asked being ignored entirely because the other person is just amazed that I can speak Japanese at any level.
On the other hand, I have a positive memory of being complimented, and I wish that this was more common. I went into a drug store in Kagoshima many years ago and asked for something. The person working there helped me and THEN said something along the lines of “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where did you learn Japanese? とても上手です！” I definitely felt complimented in that situation, But I have been learning and using Japanese for 30 years now, so the fact that this ONE memory stands out should give you an idea of how rare it for this phrase to feel like anything other than an insult.
I agree, it’s funny that English speakers complain about it when they do the same thing to non native English speakers. It’s just being friendly and I often say it to Japanese people who speak English as well, even if their English is not very good. I say it to encourage them and to acknowledge their efforts. Japanese and English are so different and it’s difficult to speak both well.
> regardless of whether their language skills are at a beginner or advanced level
> some people may feel frustrated because they hear the same compliment regardless of their skill level
On the one hand, people don’t want to be congratulated for their efforts, they want to actually reach their goals and be celebrated for that. Being applauded for your effort almost feel like a getting pitied for not reaching your goal.
There’s also the aspect that some foreigners may genuinely take that as “oh I’m actually good? I’m getting somewhere with my Japanese fluency” and then getting disappointed realizing “oh I’m not that good actually”.
I’ll give a somewhat related story. I’m fluent in Mandarin Chinese. It is technically my first language although it is my weaker language due to me growing up in the US, using English for my classes and with my peers in school. I grew up watching Chinese cartoons, TV shows, and news. When I was in uni, I had multiple Chinese natives (international students) express surprise that I’m not native Chinese, since it’s rare for an ABC (American-born Chinese) to have fluency in Chinese. I was really happy to get that acknowledgement. But over time, I had to face the truth that I’m simply not at native level fluency, even though I am fluent. It’s an unfortunate part about being a bilingual, your fluency suffers for both languages. It’s not that my uni friends were lying, but maybe they just misjudged. How well could they judge my fluency with just a few conversation? All they would know is I’m conversationally fluent.
My point is, it can be an emotional roller coaster believing you’re good and then realizing you’re not that good.
Then there’s the existence of the ほんね and たてまえ thing and how a Japanese person is (from what I’ve heard) be unwilling to express criticism even when the situation calls for it. It greatly devalues the compliments one receives.
> So when we meet someone who speaks it, we naturally want to express our respect and encouragement.
I’ve been 判子上手’d during a loan signing meeting, I’ll try reassessing my experience from this lens
Sometimes ill get this “compliment” as a test to see if i CAN speak japanese, which is totally valid. Just take it with a grain of salt. With me, i always say something about how my keigo is trash so the more i talk the more you realize its not that good, but thank you for thinking so kindly. Its all true, a little modest with a teeny bit of comedy to relax the air depending on the type of encounter, and move along. I dont ever take the phrase as rude, more of like
日本語お上手ですね=日本語どこまで喋れるのかな？
Cause after the お上手ですね i start speaking and then theyre like え！日本語本当流暢で上手いですね！ like they repeat what they really think. I think its more of a polite way of guaging your comprehension skill, rather than sarcasm or negative. (I mean there maybe be some people who mean it condescendingly, but if they start bringing your skills down and picking out mistakes left and right i would just be like “そう言えば日本人は小学校の時から英語勉強してるみたいですよね？もし今喋ってる日本語上手く喋れてなくて不十分っていうなら英語でもいいですよ？
But only when i want to be reeeeeally passive aggressive. But ive only had it once by a really really rude おばあちゃん in 大阪 and i was just astounded at her hubris lol
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「日本語上手」の加害者として答えさせていただきます。
個人の意見では、日本人の相手がポジティブに言っているかどうかの判断しがたい性質は、問題の複雑さに加わります。
外国人として日本語を学ぶとき、「日本語では、いろんなセットフレーズ（決まった表現）を使うのが多い」と教えられ、短い会話で交換されることばが、セットフレーズになっていて、頻繁に経験されます。で、セットフレーズが「考えないで、ただ暗記して」になっていて、日本人の相手も「日本語上手」をセットフレーズとして使っているかもしてません、と疑いやすいです。
なおさら、相手の日本人のほとんどみんな同じ表現を使うので、受け手は「「日本語上手」がきっとセットフレーズでしょうと」と思ってしまうのは、あまり理不尽ではないでしょう。
まだいろいろ理由は考えらるけど、あと一つ共有します。本音建前’のある文化では、空褒めを言うのも普通でしょうと思われますね。
問題を解決はできないと思いますが、この問題を認識している日本人が、問題を避ける一番簡単な方法は、外国人の相手に違う表現を使うこと。
あくまで個人の意見と経験に基づいたコメントですけど。
I feel… very confused by this thread. I went to Japan just last month and really tried my best to speak Japanese, even if more than 95% of the time I didn’t understand the follow-up questions or responses I got. Throughout my stay I learned some structures or words and used them in contexts different than where I learned them from (for example “tsugi wa …”). And it felt REALLY good to get this compliment, even if I barely knew how to count in Japanese.
Some sour people here, huh…
When I was in Japan, I didn’t get that specific compliment (quite rightly because my Japanese language skills are less than a baby’s). I have vocabulary, a few phrases and kanji. On a very good day, those three things overlap. Mostly I shout words like the barbarian I am.
However, people who received my barbaric language skills were delighted I had any. I was even gently helped/ corrected at times – and I have never been so proud of myself. You have to be approaching competent to be corrected.
It reminded me of using French, when the French people had a reputation for rudeness. Whenever I spoke in French, I was always warmly received on similar grounds: I had made the effort They even stopped replying to me in English.
I first went to Japan in 2003 and barely anyone spoke English as we went around the country and interacted with people. Senior people – like chefs – would blank us and send juniors to deal with us because they felt so uneasy about making errors. During the trips I made last year and this, people spontaneously offered us help in English. Their self-consciousness was gone.
Last year I had no Japanese but they still talked to us unprompted, to show us to our hotel, and the amazing kindnesses the Japanese people seem to show to us, 外国人
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My Japanese is not “Jyozu”, but I still appreciate when people say that it is. I think it’s very kind and encouraging. I’m sure it would feel different if Japanese was my native tongue or something, but hopefully that’s not the case for most people receiving this compliment.
There are two kinds of ways it’s looked at at I guess.
Personally I don’t mind it. And I know it’s a compliment. It’s hard to say it doesn’t bother me though. Since it’s a compliment, in Japan, you’re supposed to refuse compliments. My initial reaction to compliments is to say “thank you” but I have to say “no, not at all”. It immediately reminds me that if I want to continue talking to this person I have to play it by Japanese rules and suppress my natural cultural reactions/instincts to an extent.
That being said, I love Japanese culture and am living in Japan, so I really don’t mind and it’s not a huge concession. It can just be a constant reminder that I’m “different” and in certain ways need to adapt to make others feel comfortable. (Again I’m ok with doing that, it’s something I expected to do when moving here, it’s just exhausting over time)
The other way it’s looked at, as I hinted at before, is a signal that the other person looks different. I have Asian friends who can dodge the “nihingo jozu” since they pass as Japanese, but aren’t Japanese. Even white or black people who were born and raised in Japan probably still get “nihingo jozu” from time to time. In that case it may be meant as a compliment, but is most likely taken as a signal that they “don’t look Japanese” or “aren’t Japanese”, which again, can be exhausting to hear constantly over time and do real psychological damage to your personal identity as a “Japanese person” if these people think of themselves as “Japanese people”
I teach in Okinawa and once had a student tell me in Tokyo a Japanese person walked up to her and started using English because her skin was so dark he thought she was a foreigner. I imagine this to be on the same level as what I mentioned above.
I hope this helps you understand my perspective a little bit. I think for tourists it’s fantastic to compliment them, and shows a real level of hospitality! I always see it as coming from a place of warmth and hospitality as well. I’m never offended by it, and am often amazed at how many Japanese people say it to me, demonstrating how widespread the warmth and welcoming hospitality of this country is. I would be lying if I said I never rolled my eyes and thought “oh this again” when hearing it, but again I think it speaks to the warmth of your country and people!
I know when I stop hearing this and we just have a conversation that my Japanese is improving.
In some ways it may feel patronizing as a JSL but honestly most people are just saying it to encourage you in your language learning. The more you learn Japanese the more you learn how much more there is to learn. That’s why I always respond that I have a long way to go. Because it’s true.