My Japanese is rusty


While it sounds perfectly alright when said in English, as in "My English is
rusty", is there an equivalent in Japanese language?

I have used this line before when I said "私の日本語は錆びている" and "私の日本語は錆びっちゃっている"
but only to be met with silence from the other person. So I wondered if I had
said something wrong or awkward?

Or does it makes sense to say it as 私の英語は錆びついている. But is it even natural for
Japanese to say that?

Therefore, my question is, can it be directly translated into Japanese or is
there an equivalent to that line of sentence when said in Japanese?




This is a classic example of how direct translation rarely works between
English and Japanese.

When I, a Japanese-speaker, learned years ago that in English they say " **My
[language name] is rusty**.", it took me by surprise because in Japanese,
「錆{さ}びる = "to get rusty"」 is rarely used outside of a context regarding
metals.

A far more common and natural word choice would be:

> 「下手{へた}になる」

Use that and every single Japanese-speaker would instantly understand what you
are trying to convey.

If you used 「錆びる」, regardless of the verb form, only a highly limited number
of native Japanese-speakers would understand it immediately. You would often
end up having to utter an extra long sentence or two trying to rephrase what
you just said.

Frankly, those who would at once understand any of your three sentences would
be the ones who speak a good amount of English.

So, you could say:

> 「日本語が下手になってしまいました。」,
>
> 「日本語が下手になりました。」, etc.

Finally, you do not need to use the personal pronoun 「私」 as we will surely
know, from the context/situation, exactly whose Japanese proficiency you are
talking about.




This is a classic example of how direct translation rarely works between
English and Japanese.

When I, a Japanese-speaker, learned years ago that in English they say " **My
[language name] is rusty**.", it took me by surprise because in Japanese,
「錆{さ}びる = "to get rusty"」 is rarely used outside of a context regarding
metals.

A far more common and natural word choice would be:

> 「下手{へた}になる」

Use that and every single Japanese-speaker would instantly understand what you
are trying to convey.

If you used 「錆びる」, regardless of the verb form, only a highly limited number
of native Japanese-speakers would understand it immediately. You would often
end up having to utter an extra long sentence or two trying to rephrase what
you just said.

Frankly, those who would at once understand any of your three sentences would
be the ones who speak a good amount of English.

So, you could say:

> 「日本語が下手になってしまいました。」,
>
> 「日本語が下手になりました。」, etc.

Finally, you do not need to use the personal pronoun 「私」 as we will surely
know, from the context/situation, exactly whose Japanese proficiency you are
talking about.

