I can say what I like and don't like, ask the other person about it, and politely turn down food I don't eat.
What I like: すきです
What I like: すきです
The goal of this lesson: say what you like, ask about the other person's tastes, and refuse politely.
What you like takes the particle が: 「うどんがすきです。」 English “I like udon” treats udon as an object and suggests the object particle を, but words of liking don't take it.
When the disliked thing itself comes first as the topic, it takes は: 「わさびはすきじゃないです。」 But if the topic is a person (“Xさんは”), the disliked thing before the predicate keeps が: 「おとうとはてんぷらがすきじゃないです。」
すき, きらい, and だいすき behave like nouns: the negative is じゃないです, as in 「がくせいじゃないです」. They have no くないです ending, even though きらい ends in い.
A question: か at the end, same word order: 「さかながすきですか。」 Short answers: 「はい、すきです。」 and 「いいえ、すきじゃないです。」
A polite refusal. If someone offers you something you don't eat, a Japanese speaker leaves the sentence unfinished: 「わさびは、ちょっと…」 This isn't “I like it a little”: it's a soft “no, thank you”. In English “No, thanks, I don't like it” is polite; a direct 「きらいです」 or 「すきじゃないです」 to an offer sounds blunt.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 「やさいをすきです。」 — it should be 「やさいがすきです。」
• NOT 「くだものがすきくないです。」 — it should be 「くだものがすきじゃないです。」
• NOT 「すしすきです。」 — the particle が is missing.
Likes and dislikes
What you like takes が; the disliked thing itself can also take は as the topic, but after “Xさんは”, the thing before すきじゃないです／きらいです keeps が.
| What you want to say | Model | Particle |
|---|---|---|
| really like | いもうとはくだものがだいすきです。 | が |
| like | あねはうどんがすきです。 | が |
| don't like (the thing itself is the topic) | わさびはすきじゃないです。 | は |
| don't like (the topic is a person) | おとうとはてんぷらがすきじゃないです。 | が |
| question | ラーメンがすきですか。 | が … か |
| can't stand | おっとはさかながきらいです。 | が |
Lesson notes
What I like: すきです
The goal of this lesson: say what you like, ask about the other person's tastes, and refuse politely.
What you like takes the particle が: 「うどんがすきです。」 English “I like udon” treats udon as an object and suggests the object particle を, but words of liking don't take it.
When the disliked thing itself comes first as the topic, it takes は: 「わさびはすきじゃないです。」 But if the topic is a person (“Xさんは”), the disliked thing before the predicate keeps が: 「おとうとはてんぷらがすきじゃないです。」
すき, きらい, and だいすき behave like nouns: the negative is じゃないです, as in 「がくせいじゃないです」. They have no くないです ending, even though きらい ends in い.
A question: か at the end, same word order: 「さかながすきですか。」 Short answers: 「はい、すきです。」 and 「いいえ、すきじゃないです。」
A polite refusal. If someone offers you something you don't eat, a Japanese speaker leaves the sentence unfinished: 「わさびは、ちょっと…」 This isn't “I like it a little”: it's a soft “no, thank you”. In English “No, thanks, I don't like it” is polite; a direct 「きらいです」 or 「すきじゃないです」 to an offer sounds blunt.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 「やさいをすきです。」 — it should be 「やさいがすきです。」
• NOT 「くだものがすきくないです。」 — it should be 「くだものがすきじゃないです。」
• NOT 「すしすきです。」 — the particle が is missing.