Erroneous explained it well.
I’m probably very dense, but I didn’t realize it wasn’t a genuine compliment for quite a few years of speaking the language. It was quite a rude awakening when I realized that Japanese people really only praise people in that way when they’re very small children or incompetent. It’s meant to be encouraging, kind of in the same way you praise a small kid for pooping in the potty.
When I actually did nail the chopstick skills it actually made one of my coworkers deeply uncomfortable, like I had somehow lied about my origins, or read the secret code book or something. Dude actually started getting angry with me.
There’s really no winning the language/culture thing. Both sides can be isolating.
