40465
I'm learning Japanese from a book, and it says that "specialty" is
ご[専門]{せんもん}, but Japanese speakers can't seem to understand me if I use this
word.

How can I correctly write 「ご専門は何ですか。」 ("What's your specialty?") in Japanese?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-28T06:54:43.443
40427
2018-06-20T07:35:39.673
2017-01-11T19:07:17.650
542
12299
question
word-choice word-requests
How can I ask about a person's specialty?
As mentioned in the comments, ご専門 is more about what one studies/studied. For
working people, 「お仕事は何ですか。」 should work in most cases.

If you meant to ask what a person is good at (their strong point/forte), try
「お得意{とくい}なものは何ですか。」
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-28T09:28:47.470
40430
2016-10-30T14:23:31.193
2016-10-30T14:23:31.193
3295
3295
40427
answer
ご専門は何ですか is a perfectly natural way of saying "What's your specialty?", but
this question would make sense only to professional scholars, physicians and
such. You would expect answers like "algebraic topology", "plasma cosmology",
"pediatric hematology", etc.

To ask one's major to college students, ご専門 works, but it's better to ask
専攻【せんこう】は何ですか, because 専門 usually refers to true experts. To ask about
someone's job in general, see the answer of @IgorSkochinsky.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-10-28T23:56:35.407
40465
2018-06-20T07:35:39.673
2018-06-20T07:35:39.673
1628
5010
40427
answer