nominalizer N5 common casualpolitewritten
〜のが上手 — to be good at ~ing
〜のが上手 ・ のがじょうず
Builds on 〜のが下手
Meaning
- to be good at ~ing / skilled at ~ing — capable at an activity
Key sentence
彼女は料理を作るのが上手だ。
She's good at cooking.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (dictionary form) + のが上手 | Vる + のが上手だ | 泳ぐのが上手 (good at swimming) |
Examples
父は字を書くのが上手だ。
My father is good at handwriting.
彼は人を笑わせるのが上手だ。
He's good at making people laugh.
When you can't use it
- Avoid 私は〜のが上手だ about yourself — praising your own skill with 上手 sounds boastful. For your own abilities use 得意だ instead (料理が得意だ).
Easily confused with
Notes
- 上手 stresses observable skill (often used to praise others), while 得意 adds the speaker's own confidence and is the natural choice for talking about yourself.
See 〜のが上手 in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜のが上手 the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.