上手 - polite answer?

So it’s a bit of a thing, that if you’re clearly making an attempt to speak Japanese, someone is eventually going to say your 日本語 is 上手. They’re being polite, of course, it’s terrible. But at least you’re trying to learn and maybe making some somewhat-intelligible sounds come out of the mouth-hole once in a while. And by you I mean me.

So what is the polite way to answer that? I mean, I don’t want to refuse a compliment, but I also don’t want to look like I think I actually believe I’m good at it. Something like “You’re very kind! I’m sorry I’m not better, but I’m trying to learn!” Or should I just say thank you and leave it at that?

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Joe Zuuはだれですか。

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いいえまだまだです is the boilerplate response.

Don’t say thank you.

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Or is 上手 in this context really a veiled insult, like “bless your heart” in the Southern US? :smiley:

It seems they’ll say 上手 mo matter what your level is, and even if you ask

少しずつ日本語を勉強します。間違いたら言いてください

they generally don’t help you fix your mistakes either…

I’m gonna have to try #6 one day :durtle_the_explorer:

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上手ですね

FYI, verbs ending in う conjugate to った・って, not いた・いて. So 間違ったら言ってください.

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どうも! I still have trouble hearing long vowels and double consonants, as well as keeping track of conjugations.

What is confusing there is that 間違い is also a noun, so similar sentences you might hear like 間違いがあれば are correct. And some grammar resources don’t really point out that the た in たら is the auxiliary verb た, as well.

I like #3 (a bit mean but quite funny)

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Never ever accept a compliment. Lol.

Quoted for truth.

Any time you receive a complement in Japanese, the polite thing to do is to downplay it.

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When I do get the opportunity to speak to Japanese people this is my go to response as well.

What confuses me often is when we say goodbye to each other. Since I probably wont speak to the person ever again (I only meet tourists) I guess さようなら is appropriate? It just feels super dramatic somehow…
またね implies seeing each other again so I guess I can’t use that…

I just say いえ、いえ, shake my head, and wave my hand back and forth vaguely. Then I don’t have to say very much.

What confuses me often is when we say goodbye to each other. Since I probably wont speak to the person ever again (I only meet tourists) I guess さようなら is appropriate? It just feels super dramatic somehow…
またね implies seeing each other again so I guess I can’t use that…

I think you could get away with saying, では、失礼します with a slight bow. It’s kind of like saying, “And now I take my leave” in that context.

Edit: Or maybe ではお別れします (dewa owakareshimasu) - “And so we part.”

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From Essential Japanese Vocabulary. Learn to Avoid Common (and Embarrassing!) Mistakes by AKIRA MIURA.

未だダメです。It’s still no good .

Thanking someone as for a compliment, to the Japanese way of thinking, is like admitting you deserve the compliment; it is therefore an act of conceit.

I highly recommend this book as much as @Leebo does.

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