How Japanese people respond to being told they're JŌZU - praise in Japan

Can you make a video about ordering food in an izakaya? Your videos are very helpful!

このトピックほんとに便利ですありがとう

妹ちゃんの声めっちゃ可愛い !

why do you blur your phone case?

初めての友達の声はとても美しい😆🥰💜💙

Your friends and family did amazingly well! I don't know too many people I could randomly call and have them translate English into Japanese. Well done!

I finally watched a full video without any Japanese subs! Your clear pronunciation and interesting topics make learning so much fun. Thank you so much!

Is it weird that I can understand you better when I’m not intentionally trying to understand? 🤔 what is that called?

I have a question. In what language did you write the video title?

I think because it's Hitoki they are excited to have their English complimented since Hitoki is good at English.

I think maybe because foreigners in Japan will hear "Nihongo jozu" very often during their stay or after they move... They will notice how often it happens and also start to notice the difference between their Japanese and that of a native speaker. So even if its good enough to understand, they can tell they're making lots of mistakes despite everyone complimenting them. But learning a language is hard! People just want to compliment them.

I reckon when someone you don't know personally compliments your speaking, it's often genuine, probably because it's quite flattering to see a foreigner speaking our native language.

To a certain point at least. Once that foreigner speaks as well as we do, we often won't feel the need to praise them anymore.

I once met someone in Africa speaking my own language in such so a proper way, almost like an academician, it made me think that by comparison I was talking like a peasant.

I always say I studied in Japan and have been there three times. THEN THE EXPECTATIONS ARE WAY TO HIGH HAHAHAAH

Aw, that was really cute!

Loved this video, listened to it while I was folding laundry and it made me laugh several times 笑

oh my god the basis of this video is my entire thought process THANKS FOR THE VIDEO I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED

日本語上手！
あなたも！

Por que está em português a legenda?

You are so fun to watch

I love this video! Especially the first half🤣
After living in Japan for over a year now I've gotten used the whole 日本語上手 compliment and just receive it. But I'm wondering if anyone has gotten the "わ～発音きれいじゃん" compliment? Don't mean to brag but I have. 皆さん頑張ってね～
ひときさん、動画をいつもありがとうございます。

Impressive! I was thinking that they wouldn't accept the praise . Really glad that they do it , they put effort on it so deserve the praise , even if it's not perfect.
On the same time , if (or when , i'm optimistic ) i become "nihongo jouzu again , i will accept it because i will be happy. Last time it was so hard to act like i was not happy about it , even if it's just one praise . (it mean all of the effort to learn japanese on my own , with no teacher and all , far from perfect was indeed usefull!

I know it's far from perfect but like one friend said: "When i'm climbing the mountain , i must not look at the mountain , but at the rock who are in the way "

去年これを見たらよかったかな
まだまだです。頑張りますとかが答えだと思ったのに

I liked the first guy's reaction best I think write's this down for the next time I go to Japan

In the English->Japanese learning community it's definitely a joke that if you hear "日本語上手" it's just patronizing but I appreciate hearing this perspective ^_^

naw i guess im too asian cuz nobody was like “WOOWWWW JAPANESE?!?” but thats okay😭

Me memorizing "いいえ、褒めなくて。できないから"

I don't think it's really specific to Japanese... Or at least, that's my experience anyway. Most people aren't multi-lingual (and even if they are, most aren't comfortable enough to even attempt to speak in it), so when they see others that speak foreign language, they are genuinely surprised. More so if it isn't a major language of commerce, like English.

is not the same if an American says eigo youzu than you that are from Japan saying eigo youzu, that is why the reaction was diferent, from a native it could be received as sarcastic

Hahaha I was expecting reactions like “いえいえ！そなことないです！“ also! I’m in Japan now for 2 and a half weeks and just recently at universal studios Osaka a lot of the staff members were telling me my Japanese was good. In my opinion I think it’s okay but not that great so my response was always “いえいえ！そなことないです！まだ下手です。 After watching this maybe I can respond a little more confidently lol.

I've been thinking about this exact question last night when I went to sleep and this video pops up this morning. What a coincidence for real, Igot jouzued recently twice and it really felt somewhat wrong. Your video made me rethink my attitude, thank you!

When Japanese people praise my japanese, I just make ojigi, or smile and said: Arigatou gozaimasu. Demo mada-mada/maa maa desu. Because I think my japanese is not that high.

I always thought it odd that people think it disingenuous even tho most people across most cultures and languages do the same. Even if someone isn’t fluent, when clear effort has been made and you can tell what they are saying even though it’s not a language they are used to, it’s genuinely impressive.

Especially for super complicated yet super different languages like english and japanese. If someone who has spent most of their life speaking japanese comes to the US on a trip and can communicate even a little and people can understand them, chances are, someone will tell them their english is good. They will mean it too! Sounding like a native speaker and genuinely impressing people on a level they would call “good” are not mutually exclusive. There are different types of good too.

Good for someone new to a language isn’t going to mean the same as good even compared to native speakers, but both are still genuine forms of “good”.

I always thought of it just being the same way anyone would tell someone speaking a language that they aren’t necessarily proficient in that they are speaking well.

It’s not a lie, it’s just based on a different set of criteria than “native tongue” level of fluency.

I am glad to see more people realizing this and putting the message out there to clarify for those who may not have thought about it like that.

僕日本語ペラペラやけど、「上手｣って言われると、ちょっと無視して、言っていたことを続けちゃいます。笑
でも、みんなは確か「いやいや」、「ありがとう」、「そんなことない」を言ったりするのが一般的かな

The girl's English was actually really good. 😊

I don't know who translated your video's title to German, but you should look for a new translator. The word "Japaner_innen" does not exist. This made up grammar is the trademark of left wing political ideologues. They are people of a certain political activist movement and partly a religious sect. It makes a very bad impression and you should change it as soon as you can. I'm sorry they tricked you. お願いします。 :(

I got nihongo jouzu'd within a minute of exiting the airport terminal, the taxi driver got me. 😁

まじでOOさん日本語上手ですねって聞かれたら、なんか恥ずかしくてどう答えたらいいかわからなくて悩んでいたけど、この動画を見て「ありがとう」でいいっていうことがわかったので嬉しいです。*\(^o^)/* 教えていただきありがとうございます。(。•ω•。)ノ♡

これは日本人だけじゃなくて、フランスでもドイツでも驚いてくれる方いらっしゃる。

でもね，褒められてから、”ありがとう”を返事して,相手がこの人は傲慢なひとだと思いますか

It's the only video which is 100% useless for me.

I lived in Japan for 11 years and heard 日本語上手ですね！ so many times that on an off day I’d just respond with そうですね 😂

As a learner, I often say thank you and "もっとも頑張ります"
does that sound okay ? I try to imply that even if I accept the compliment, I will work harder to get better >:)

実際上手なときに上手っていうから、海外で穿った見方されるの面倒臭い。

i was always told to downplay the compliment, but my first genuine reaction is still ありがとう most of the time, then the downplay comes after, once i remember. I'm glad to see japanese people do the same thing!

At first I would just always say, 日本語のレベルはまだ低い。でも, 最近はペラペラじゃないと言い。。。 which gets a bigger reaction, and it's always hilarious. And then I make a joke and make them agree that I am, ペラだけ。As if to say, I am semi-fluent... this often gets a good laugh, and then we can move on to the rest of the convo which always becomes "where did you learn Japanese / why can you speak Japanese?" 

At the end of the day, this happens at least once per day as a foreigner speaking Japanese in Japan, BUT I take it as a compliment... I think almost always they are just pleasantly surprised and genuinely curious... it has become a fun routine for me! Sometimes I just begin speaking Kansai accent words which gets an even bigger reaction. 
Also, this convo is maybe the only Japanese "small talk" that exists haha, as small talk isnt really common here amongst strangers.

..mada mada desu toka sou iu janakute toka henji shitemasu😅

everyone did well!面白かった、ありがとうね

ごますりちゃうかと答えればどうかなー？

それはホンマだよー。