Translation guide
In Japanese, directly praising oneself is generally avoided as it can be seen as boastful or lacking humility. Instead, learners should understand how to express pride or satisfaction indirectly, or recognize when others are doing so. This guide covers natural ways to talk about one's own achievements or qualities without sounding arrogant.
The speaker wants to share a success or good quality without sounding boastful, often by framing it as luck, effort, or others' help.
A humble set phrase meaning 'thanks to you/others' or 'fortunately'. It deflects praise by attributing success to external factors.
おかげさまで、試験に合格しました。
Thanks to your support, I passed the exam.
Fortunately, work is going well.
Means 'by chance' or 'coincidentally'. Used to downplay one's own role in a success.
たまたまうまくいっただけです。
It just happened to go well by chance.
Literally 'not yet, not yet'. A humble response to a compliment, implying one still has a long way to go.
A: 日本語が上手ですね。B: いえ、まだまだです。
A: Your Japanese is good. B: No, I still have a lot to learn.
Attributing success to someone or something else. Fill in the person or thing that helped.
先生のおかげで、理解できました。
Thanks to my teacher, I was able to understand.
The speaker wants to mention a positive trait or skill without appearing arrogant, often using softening expressions.
Means 'I think I'm on the ~ side'. Softens a self-assessment by making it relative and subjective.
私はどちらかと言えば、まじめな方だと思います。
I think I'm more on the serious side, if anything.
Means 'I'm good at ~'. Acceptable when stating a skill factually, but can be softened with 'ちょっと' or '少し'.
私は料理が少し得意です。
I'm a little good at cooking.
Means 'I'm often told that ~'. Shifts the source of the praise to others, making it less direct.
優しいとよく言われます。
I'm often told that I'm kind.
The learner wants to understand when someone is indirectly praising themselves, often through humblebragging or self-deprecation that invites contradiction.
Japanese speakers may use self-deprecating statements expecting others to disagree and praise them. For example, saying 'I'm so clumsy' to hear 'No, you're not!'
私なんて全然ダメですよ。
Oh, I'm totally useless. (expecting 'No, that's not true!')
Literally 'self-praise'. A direct term for praising oneself, often used in the set phrase '自画自賛するようですが' (this may sound like self-praise, but...).
自画自賛するようですが、この作品はよくできたと思います。
This may sound like self-praise, but I think this work turned out well.
Directly saying 'I'm great at ~' or 'I'm so talented' is generally seen as arrogant. Even factual statements about achievements are often softened or attributed to luck/others.
私ってすごいでしょ？
Aren't I amazing? (sounds very arrogant)
When complimented, deflect with modesty. Common responses include 'いえいえ' (no, no), 'そんなことないです' (that's not true), or 'まだまだです' (I still have a long way to go).