上手 vs 得意
JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?
The real difference is who you may say it about. 上手 praises someone else's skill and sounds boastful about yourself, so 私は日本語が上手です is best avoided. 得意 means "this is one of my strengths" and is completely normal in the first person: 料理が得意です.
When to use each
上手
じょうず
Use 上手 to praise another person's skill, judged from the outside, as in 日本語がお上手ですね. Avoid it about yourself; about your own family it is fine, because you are describing them rather than you.
日本語がお上手ですね。
にほんごがおじょうずですね。
Your Japanese is really good.
母は料理が上手です。
はははりょうりがじょうずです。
My mother is a good cook.
得意
とくい
Use 得意 for something that is one of your strong points — a subject, a skill, a signature dish. It is the natural word for your own abilities, and it works about other people too.
私は料理が得意です。
わたしはりょうりがとくいです。
Cooking is one of my strengths.
数学は得意ですが、英語は苦手です。
すうがくはとくいですが、えいごはにがてです。
I'm good at maths, but weak at English.
Sentences where only one works
田中さんは歌が上手ですね。
たなかさんはうたがじょうずですね。
You're a good singer, Tanaka.
Praising the person in front of you is exactly what 上手 is for. 得意ですね would sound like a comment on their own self-assessment.
スポーツが得意です。
スポーツがとくいです。
Sports are one of my strong points.
About yourself, 得意 is the safe word. スポーツが上手です strikes listeners as self-praise.
得意な料理はカレーです。
とくいなりょうりはカレーです。
My signature dish is curry.
得意な plus a noun means the thing you are good at. 上手な料理 would describe a dish that is skilfully made, not your specialty.
字が上手ですね。
じがじょうずですね。
You have lovely handwriting.
A compliment on a visible result, which is 上手's core use and one of the first compliments learners hear.
Common mistakes
私は日本語が上手です。
私は日本語が得意です。
上手 is an outside judgement, so applying it to yourself sounds boastful. Say 得意です instead, or deflect a compliment with まだまだです.
日本語がお上手ですね。 はい、上手です。
日本語がお上手ですね。 いいえ、まだまだです。
Agreeing with a compliment about your own skill is socially awkward in Japanese. The expected replies are いいえ、まだまだです or ありがとうございます.
私は料理を上手です。
私は料理が上手です。
Both 上手 and 得意 take が for the skill, not を, because they are adjectives rather than verbs. The pattern is 〜が上手だ and 〜が得意だ.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ever use 上手 about myself?
In practice, treat it as off limits in the first person. The exception is the negative, as in まだ上手じゃありません, where there is no boasting. About your own mother or child, 上手 is perfectly fine.
Is 得意 modest enough for a job interview?
Yes. 得意 is the standard way to state a strength in Japanese, and 得意なことは〜です is expected in interviews and self-introductions. It states a fact rather than claiming praise.
What is the opposite of each one?
上手's opposite is 下手, and 得意's is 苦手. They follow the same social pattern: 下手 is blunt about ability, while 苦手 is the gentler word most people use about themselves.