Translation guide
How to express improvement, recovery, or surpassing a previous state in Japanese.
To become more skilled or proficient at something.
The most common way to say 'get better' at a skill or activity. Literally 'become skillful'.
日本語が上手になりました。
My Japanese has gotten better.
料理が上手になりたい。
I want to get better at cooking.
A slightly more formal verb meaning 'to improve' or 'make progress' in a skill.
ピアノが上達した。
My piano playing has gotten better.
An idiomatic expression meaning 'to improve one's skills', literally 'to raise one's arm'. Often used for crafts or sports.
彼は料理の腕を上げた。
He got better at cooking.
To become healthy again after being sick or hurt.
The standard way to say 'get better' in terms of health. Literally 'become good'.
An intransitive verb meaning 'to heal' or 'to be cured'. Used for illnesses or injuries.
けがが治った。
My injury got better.
A formal term for 'recover', used for health or condition.
体調が回復しました。
My condition has gotten better.
For a situation, product, or state to become better.
Also used for general improvement of situations or things.
A formal verb meaning 'to improve' or 'to ameliorate', often used in business or technical contexts.
状況が改善した。
The situation got better.
A casual expression meaning 'to become better than before', often implying it was bad but is now tolerable.
前よりマシになった。
It's gotten better than before.
To exceed a previous standard or another person.
Use with a point of comparison to say 'get better than ~'.
去年より成績が良くなった。
My grades got better than last year.
A literary verb meaning 'to surpass' or 'to be superior'. Not used in casual speech.
彼は私に勝る。
He is better than me.
Do not translate 'get better' word-for-word as '得るより良い' or similar. It is not natural Japanese.
良くなる is a general 'become good' and can be used for health, weather, skills, etc. 治る is specifically for healing from illness or injury. Use 治る when you want to emphasize recovery from a specific ailment.