かれ は ひと を おどす の が じょうず です。
kare wa hito wo odosu no ga jouzu desu.
He is good at threatening people.
Listen up. This ain’t that complicated. じょうず means you’re a straight-up baller. You’re good at somethin’, you got the talent, the finesse. You’re the one everyone calls when it’s time to get down. Think of the best getaway driver in the crew. He’s じょうず.
Now, へた? That’s the cat who messes everything up. The dude who can’t keep his mouth shut, who fumbles the bag. He’s the one you gotta leave on the bench because his skills are weak. He’s へた.
Check the table below to see how we hook up different verbs with this grammar. It’s a real easy play.
| English | Japanese | Example | Translation |
| Good at doing… | 〜のがじょうずです | ボス は うんてん する の が じょうず です。 | The boss is good at driving. |
| Bad at doing… | 〜のがへたです | わたし は りょうり する の が へた です。 | I am bad at cooking. |
Aight, so peep the game. The key is to take the verb and get it into its plain form. Then, you just slap on のがじょうず/へたです. It’s all about that plain form connection, no fancy business. Just keep it simple and you’ll be talkin’ like a pro in no time.
Picture this: The crew is plannin’ a major heist. You got two cats. One is the master lock picker, Smooth Eddie. He can open any safe in seconds, silent as a whisper. He かぎをあけるのがじょうず.
Then you got the other dude, Clumsy Carl. He tries to pick a lock and makes more noise than a stampede. He’s all thumbs. He かぎをあけるのがへた.
See? It’s the difference between the guy who gets the job done right and the chump who’s gonna land everybody in the joint. It’s about skill versus no skill.
Here’s the street slang we be using in this lesson.
おどす (odossu)
English: To threaten.
This ain’t no playground talk. When you threaten somebody, you put the fear of God in ’em. You let ’em know you ain’t playin’ and that there’s consequences if they don’t fall in line. It’s that real talk, that hard-nosed warning you give when you want ’em to back off or come correct. You ain’t just talkin’ smack; you’re layin’ down the law.
びこう を する (bikou o suru)
English: To tail; to follow.
When you tail someone, you’re on ’em, silent and unseen. You’re like a shadow, watchin’ every move they make from a distance. You wanna know where they go, who they meet, and what they’re up to. It’s that deep cover kinda game, where you’re gathering intel, makin’ sure you got the full scope on the situation before you make your move.
こじあける (kojiakeru)
English: To pry open; to force open.
This right here is about raw force. You pry open something when it ain’t meant to be opened, like a locked door or a safe that’s got secrets inside. You ain’t got the key, so you gotta use a crowbar or whatever it takes. It’s a straight-up violation, a forceful entry to get what you came for. It’s when you can’t get in the legit way, so you bust your way in.
こうしょう する (koushou suru)
English: To negotiate.
We ain’t always gotta go to war. Sometimes, you gotta negotiate. This is when you sit down with the other side and hash things out. You talk numbers, you talk terms, you give a little, you take a little, all to find that middle ground so everyone can walk away with something. It’s the art of the deal, tryin’ to get the best outcome without gettin’ your hands dirty.
くみたてる (kumitateru)
English: To assemble; to build up.
When you assemble something, you’re puttin’ it all together. You got all the pieces—the parts of a plan, the crew for a job, the intel you’ve been collectin’—and you’re lockin’ ’em all into place. It’s about buildin’ somethin’ from the ground up, whether it’s a project, a crew, or a whole operation. It’s that first step of making somethin’ outta nothin’.
My crew’s got nothin’ but real talk. These examples are straight from the block, so you know they legit.
ボス は ひと を おどす の が じょうず です。
bosu wa hito o odosu no ga jouzu desu.
The boss is good at threatening people.
おれ の なかま は かくれる の が へた だ。
ore no nakama wa kakureru no ga heta da.
My homie is bad at hiding.
かれ は ターゲット の びこう を する の が じょうず だ。
kare wa tāgetto no bikō o suru no ga jouzu da.
He is good at tailing targets.
あの おとこ は きんこ を こじあける の が じょうず だ。
ano otoko wa kinko o kojiakeru no ga jouzu da.
That man is good at prying open safes.
うち の しんじん、くるま の うんてん が へたすぎる。
uchi no shinjin, kuruma no unten ga heta sugiru.
Our rookie is terrible at driving cars.
ぶき を かくす の が じょうず な ばしょ を しっている。
buki o kakusu no ga jouzu na basho o shitte iru.
I know a place that’s good for hiding weapons.
かれ は こうしょう する の が じょうず だから、いつも たかい ほうしゅう を もらう。
kare wa koushou suru no ga jouzu dakara, itsumo takai hōshū o morau.
He’s good at negotiating, so he always gets a high reward.
かのじょ は ぬすんだ ほうせき を うる の が じょうず だ。
kanojo wa nusunda houseki o uru no ga jouzu da.
She is good at selling stolen jewels.
マフィア の ボス は ひと を ころす の が へた だ。
mafia no bosu wa hito o korosu no ga heta da.
The mafia boss is bad at killing people.
じゅう を くみたてる の が じょうず な めんばー を つれていけ。
juu o kumitateru no ga jouzu na menbā o tsurete ike.
Take the member who is good at assembling guns with you.
Keep your hustle on point, and you’ll be speaking this lingo like a pro. Peace out.
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