What does “jouzu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “jouzu” normally to mean ‘good (at something)’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression and history. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “jouzu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “jouzu”
- Jouzu in kanji
- Why can “jouzu” mean ‘good (at something)’ in Japanese?
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “jouzu”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “jouzu”.
- jouzu – 上手 (じょうず) : a noun, but normally used as an adjective to mean ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese.
In Japanese, the border between nouns and some adjectives called na-adjectives is very ambiguous. Many na-adjectives consist of a noun and a conjugative suffix, but native speakers quite often omit the suffix especially in speaking. Many Japanese nouns, therefore, can be the shortened versions of the corresponding na-adjectives. “Jouzu” is one of them. It can work as the shortened version of “jouzuna” which is a na-adjective meaning ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese.
Compared to the grammatical background, the meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Jouzu in kanji
The kanji expression of “jouzu” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 上 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘top’, ‘upper’, ‘above’, ‘beyond’, or ‘over’ in Japanese.
- 手 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘hand’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that the formed word literally means ‘the top of a hand’ in Japanese. Unfortunately, this literal interpretation does not seem to be in line with the actual meanings. Sometimes, this kind of mismatch can happen. Then, why can this kanji expression mean ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese? To answer this question, let me explain some history.
Why can “jouzu” mean ‘good (at something)’ in Japanese?
To understand why “jouzu” can mean ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese, we need to know some history behind this word. This word originally came from its heteronym, “kamite”, which is strongly related to the Japanese theater culture.
- kamite – 上手 (かみて) : a noun meaning a ‘stage left’ in Japanese.
Interestingly, it was said that actors on the stage left (the right side from the audience) tended to play better than those who were on the stage right. In other words, actors on “kamite” tended to play better. This tendency stretched the usage of the noun, “kamite”, wider. People in the past started to use it to mean ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese. And its pronunciation as the adjective has changed as times changed. Today, “kamite” only means a ‘stage left’ in Japanese and “jouzu” means ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “jouzu” together with its kanji expression and history. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “good at” in Japanese
kanojo wa ryouri ga jouzu desu – 彼女は料理が上手です (かのじょはりょうりがじょうずです)
She is good at cooking.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- ryouri – 料理 (りょうり) : a noun meaning ‘cooking’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “ryouri” to make the object in the sentence.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “jouzu” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “jouzu”. In this example, it works to mean ‘good at’ in Japanese. When we want to say “good (at something)” in Japanese, this word is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “jouzu”
imouto wa watashi yori tenisu ga jouzu desu – 妹は私よりテニスが上手です (いもうとはわたしよりてにすがじょうずです)
My little sister is better at tennis than I am.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- imouto – 妹 (いもうと) : a noun meaning ‘little sister’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- yori – より : a case particle used to provide a target of comparison. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to provide the target of the comparison with “imouto”. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of “than” in English.
- tenisu – テニス (てにす) : a noun meaning ‘tennis’ in Japanese. This is an imported word which originally came from the pronunciation of “tennis”.
This is another typical usage of “jouzu”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “yori”, to say “better at” in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “jouzu” in detail based on its kanji expression and history. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- jouzu – 上手 (じょうず) : a noun, but normally used as an adjective to mean ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘the top of a hand’. This word originally came from its heteronym, “kamite”.
- kamite – 上手 (かみて) : a noun meaning a ‘stage left’ in Japanese. Actors on the stage left tended to play better than those who were on the stage right. So, people in the past started to use this word as an adjective to mean ‘good (at something)’ or ‘skillful’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.