Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha eigo ga nigate da ga, nihongo ha nigate de ha nai. - I’m not good at English, but I’m not bad at Japanese.

With adjectives like 好き, 嫌い, 上手, 下手, 得意, 苦手, the thing you like/dislike/are good or bad at is marked with が. So 私は英語が苦手 = As for me, English is (something I’m) bad at. Using を is ungrammatical here; は is possible but adds contrast (see next questions).

What does は do on 私 and on 日本語? Are there two topics?

Yes. 私は sets the overall topic (as for me). In the second clause, 日本語は sets a new, contrastive topic (as for Japanese). This contrast pairs naturally with the but relationship.

Could I say 英語は苦手だ instead of 英語が苦手だ? How does it change the nuance?

Yes. 英語は苦手だ is fine and sounds a bit more contrastive (as for English, I’m bad at it). In your sentence, using 英語は would also work and would mirror the later 日本語は. 英語が苦手だ is more neutral/statement-like.

Are the two が in the sentence the same?

No. The first が after 英語 is the subject marker. The が in だが is a conjunction meaning but/though.

What exactly does 苦手 mean? How is it different from 下手 or 嫌い?

苦手: na-adjective, “not good at; weak at; uncomfortable with,” often including mild dislike/avoidance. Works with skills and non-skill things (e.g., 虫が苦手 = I’m not good with bugs).
下手: “unskillful/poor at” (performance/technique), e.g., 英語が下手 = I speak English poorly.
嫌い: “dislike” (emotion). You can dislike something yet be good at it. The opposite of 苦手 is 得意 (“good/strong at”).

Why is there だ after 苦手?

苦手 is a na-adjective, so as a predicate it needs the copula: casual だ, polite です. Example: 英語が苦手だ / 英語が苦手です.

Why use だが instead of でも or けど?

Casual: 苦手だけど、…
Polite: 苦手ですが、…
More formal/written: 苦手だが、… (also しかし、…)
でも usually starts a new sentence: 苦手です。 でも、日本語は…

Why is it 苦手ではない and not 苦手じゃない? Are they the same?

They mean the same; the difference is formality.

苦手ではない: uncontracted, somewhat formal/neutral.
苦手じゃない: contracted, common in speech. Polite negatives: 苦手ではありません / 苦手じゃありません.

What is the は in ではない doing? Could I say 苦手でない?

で is the conjunctive form of だ; は is the (contrastive) topic marker. A ではない = “it is not A,” often with slight contrast. A でない is a shorter written/neutral variant. All are fine here: 苦手ではない, 苦手でない, 苦手じゃない.

Is 苦手ではない the same as 得意だ?

No. 苦手ではない = “not bad at” (at least okay). 得意だ = “good/strong at.” The former is more modest and weaker.

Can I omit 私は?

Yes. Japanese often drops obvious topics: 英語が苦手だが、日本語は苦手ではない。 is perfectly natural.

Why does は sound like “wa”? And how do you read では?

The topic particle は is pronounced “wa.” では is read “dewa,” but in everyday speech it often contracts to じゃ (“ja”): 苦手ではない → “nigate dewa nai” (or colloquially “nigate ja nai”).

Could I use も instead of は in 日本語は?

日本語も苦手ではない means “Japanese is also not something I’m bad at,” implying there are other things you’re not bad at. In your contrast with English (which you are bad at), は fits better than も.

Could I say 日本語が苦手ではない?

Grammatically yes, but here 日本語は苦手ではない is more natural. In negatives, は often marks the item being negated to set up contrast (“as for Japanese, it’s not the case that…”). 日本語が苦手ではない can sound like you’re answering “Which language is it that you’re not bad at?”

What would the fully polite version look like?

私は英語が苦手ですが、日本語は苦手ではありません。

Can I swap the clause order to emphasize Japanese?

Yes: 日本語は苦手ではないが、英語が苦手だ。 Same meaning, different emphasis (Japanese first).

Why are there commas and spaces? Do Japanese normally write with spaces?

The comma 、 is standard punctuation. Spaces here are for learners; ordinary Japanese is written without spaces: 私は英語が苦手だが、日本語は苦手ではない。

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

Kana: わたしはえいごがにがてだが、にほんごはにがてではない。 Romaji: Watashi wa eigo ga nigate da ga, nihongo wa nigate de wa nai.