Pronunciation
Preamble
お家芸 is an advanced word you may want to use to impress your Japanese friends.
Definition
お家芸 (おいえげい, oiegei) basically indicates one’s forte or adept skills, and is often used to describe organizations or countries. For instance, anime, manga, and judo are some of the Japan’s お家芸 (strong areas). It can be also used to describe someone’s skills, as in “コーナーキックは彼(かれ)のお家芸だ”, meaning “A corner kick is his お家芸 (forte/adept skill).” Some people use this word as an irony or self-deprecation humour as shown in Ex2 and 3 below.
Word Origin and Structure
お家芸 used to indicate profound family crafts that are passed down from generation to generation. The first Kanji “家” means “house”, and the second one “芸” means “skills/crafts”. “お” is added before 家 to make it sound more formal and polite, as with “お金 (お + money)” and “お名前 (お + name)”.
Example Sentences
Ex1
この研究分野は我々の研究室のお家芸だ
This research topic is the お家芸 (forte) of our laboratory.
Ex2
Aお前また遅刻かよ
A まあな、俺のお家芸だから
A: You’re late again!
B: Yep, it’s my お家芸 (adept skill)
Ex3
矛盾した発言をするのは、あの議員のお家芸だ
Making contradictory statements is the お家芸 (forte) of the Diet member.
Synonyms: 十八番 (see below)
Synonyms in English: forte, strength
Related words and phrases:お (prefix that adds politeness), 家 (house), 芸 (skill)
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