Grammar › Core Patterns
〜がすきです — likes and dislikes
I like X: Xがすきです; love = だいすき, hate = きらい
Liking in Japanese is an adjective, not a verb: XがすきですーX is liked (by me). The liked thing takes が. Upgrade to だいすき (love), downgrade to きらい (dislike) or だいきらい (hate) — all are な-adjectives and work identically.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| X が すきです | 音楽がすきです — I like music |
| X が だいすきです | ラーメンがだいすきです — I love ramen |
| X が きらいです | 虫がきらいです — I dislike insects |
| Verb の が すきです | 料理するのがすきです — I like cooking |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 日本の音楽がすきです。 | にほんのおんがくがすきです。 nihonnoongakugasukidesu。 | I like Japanese music. |
| 兄はトマトがきらいです。 | あにはとまとがきらいです。 anihatomatogakiraidesu。 | My brother hates tomatoes. |
| 本を読むのがすきです。 | ほんをよむのがすきです。 honwoyomunogasukidesu。 | I like reading books. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
きらい looks like an い-adjective but is a な-adjective (きらいな食べ物). And note the が: ×音楽をすきです is the most common particle slip at N5.