Saying what you like in Japanese

Level A1

Saying what you like in Japanese

By the end of this lesson you can say what you like and ask the other person: コーヒーが好きです (kōhī ga suki desu), "I like coffee", and お茶は？ (ocha wa?), "What about tea?". The key idea: 好き isn't a verb. It takes no verb ending, です closes the sentence as in 本です (hon desu), "It's a book", and what you like takes が.

A quick warm-up: は, です and を

Here is what you'll reuse, even if this is the first time you've seen it. In 私はアナです (watashi wa Ana desu), "I am Ana", は, read wa, marks who or what you're talking about, and です (desu) closes the sentence politely. お名前は？ (onamae wa?), "What's your name?", is a full question with no verb in it. In 水を飲みます (mizu o nomimasu), "I drink water", を (o) marks the thing you drink, and the verb comes last. さん (san) follows someone else's name, never your own: アナさん (Ana-san).

Two drinks and 好き

コーヒー (kōhī) is coffee and お茶 (ocha) is tea; in Japan, お茶 usually means green tea. 好き (suki) says that something is to your liking. Its card gives "like", the closest English word, but the next sections show that it doesn't behave like the English verb.

At the coffee break

Tanaka (A) and Ana (B) are on a break at a table with coffee, tea and bread (パン, pan). Listen once without reading. Tanaka says what he likes, then turns to Ana with アナさんは？ (Ana-san wa?), "And you, Ana?". She sets herself apart with 私は and asks him about tea with お茶は？. His answer, お茶はあまり… (ocha wa amari…), trails off on purpose: you'll see why further down.

What you like, が, then 好きです

Say what you like first, then が (ga), then 好きです (suki desu). You may know が from 猫がいます (neko ga imasu), "There's a cat"; here it marks the thing you like. Change the word in the slot: お茶, パン, or これ (kore), "this", for something near you. In a simple sentence like these, use が and not the を of 水を飲みます.

コーヒーが好(す)きです。

好き isn't a verb

Compare コーヒーを飲みます (kōhī o nomimasu), "I drink coffee", with コーヒーが好きです. 飲みます is a verb: it takes を and ends in ます. 好き isn't: it's a describing word, closed by です the way 本 is in 本です (hon desu), "It's a book". So you can't say 好きます. Word for word, the sentence is closer to "coffee is to my liking" than to "I like coffee".

好きです stays the same for everyone

English adds -s for "she likes", but 好きです stays the same whoever you're talking about, just as 飲みます does: 私はお茶が好きです (watashi wa ocha ga suki desu), "As for me, I like tea", and アナさんはコーヒーが好きです (Ana-san wa kōhī ga suki desu), "Ana likes coffee". Leave the person out when it's clear. When you name them, the person takes は and the thing they like takes が.

Asking back: a word, は and a rising voice

To ask the other person, say the word you're asking about, add は and let your voice rise: お茶は？, "What about tea?". It works like お名前は？: the rest is left unsaid because the conversation supplies it. The slot takes a drink, a food or a person's name: アナさんは？, "And you, Ana?". Japanese often uses someone's name where English says "you", so you don't need a word for "you" here.

This question leans on what was just said, so use it once you're already talking about likes. Out of the blue, お茶は？ could just as well be offering tea or asking where it is.

お茶は？

Two answers

To say yes, use はい (hai) and 好きです: はい、好きです, "Yes, I like it". The drink can stay unsaid, and Japanese needs no word for "it".

You may also hear お茶はあまり… (ocha wa amari…), with the voice fading out. あまり (amari) points to "not much", and the speaker leaves the rest unsaid, which makes a soft "not really". Just recognize it when you hear it: you don't have to say it, and there's no negative sentence to learn here.

Your turn, and the short version

Say each one out loud before you look at its line below. First, tell someone you like tea. Next, ask about coffee. Then say that Ana likes coffee, using her name. Last, say yes, you like it.

In short: what you like, が, 好きです. 好き takes no verb ending. To ask back, say a word, は and let your voice rise: お茶は？, アナさんは？.

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