| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| ([Subject] は) [verb phrase] のが [adjective] です |
| ([Subject] wa) [verb phrase] no ga [adjective] desu |
| (Subject is) good at / bad at [verb -ing] |
| This sentence pattern is used to describe someone's ability or skill in doing an action. |
| The verb phrase stays in its dictionary form and is followed by のが, which nominalizes the verb — in other words, it turns the verb into a noun phrase, like “doing [verb].” |
| After that comes the adjective, which shows how good or bad the person is at doing the action. The adjectives used with this structure are じょうず and へた to describe how objectively good or bad someone is at something, and とくい and にがて to describe how confident or comfortable someone feels about their skill. |
| The person doing the action is marked with は and is the subject of the sentence. |
| Depending on the context, they can be omitted from the sentence. |
| The overall meaning is that the person is good or bad - subjectively or objectively - at something. |
| Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| ありがとうございます｡とくに 魚を りょうりするのが とくいです｡ |
| In this sentence: |
| 魚を (sakana o) is the object of the verb — “fish.” |
| りょうりする (ryōri suru) is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to cook.” |
| りょうりするのが turns the action of cooking into a noun phrase — “cooking.” |
| とくいです is the adjective meaning “am good at,” with the nuance of feeling confident or comfortable doing something. |
| Together, 魚を りょうりするのが とくいです means “(I) am good at cooking fish.” |
| とくに adds emphasis, meaning “especially,” and ありがとうございます is a polite way to say “thank you very much.” |
| So the full sentence translates to: “Thank you very much. I'm especially good at cooking fish.” |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| はなはピアノをひくのがじょうずです｡ (Hana wa piano o hiku no ga jōzu desu.) |
| Hana is good at playing the piano. |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| はな is the subject of the sentence. は (wa) is the topic particle marking Hana as the one being talked about. |
| ピアノを is the object. ピアノ (piano) is what is being played, and を (o) marks it as the object of the verb. |
| ひく is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to play” (and is used for stringed or keyboard instruments). |
| ひくのが combines the verb with のが, turning the verb into a noun phrase — “playing (the piano)” — and setting it up as the subject of the following adjective. |
| じょうずです is the adjective phrase meaning “is good at.” It describes someone’s skill from an objective point of view and is commonly used to compliment others. |
| So, はなはピアノをひくのがじょうずです。 fits the pattern: |
| Hana is the subject, "playing the piano" is the action being evaluated, and "is good at" is the adjective describing her skill. |
| Here's another example |
| わたしはピアノをひくのがとくいです｡ (Watashi wa piano o hiku no ga tokui desu.) |
| I'm good at playing the piano. |
| わたしはピアノをひくのがとくいです｡ (Watashi wa piano o hiku no ga tokui desu.) |
| I'm good at playing the piano. |
| Let's try one more, |
| ひまりはおはしをつかうのがへたです｡ (Himari wa o-hashi o tsukau no ga heta desu.) |
| Himari is bad at using chopsticks. |
| ひまりはおはしをつかうのがへたです｡ (Himari wa o-hashi o tsukau no ga heta desu.) |
| Himari is bad at using chopsticks. |
| Another one. |
| わたしははしるのがにがてです｡ (Watashi wa hashiru no ga nigate desu.) |
| I'm not good at running. |
| わたしははしるのがにがてです｡ (Watashi wa hashiru no ga nigate desu.) |
| I'm not good at running. |
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