JAPANESE Lesson 16 - The Liked, the Disliked & the Hated

[Starry Starry Fright]

Before you learn to list the names of objects around you, it is important to learn how to pass judgment on them. That is the human way, after all.

Many of you probably already know that the Japanese word for "like" is "suki". Remember that is is pronounced "ski" and not "soo-key". People will look at you funny if you say it like that.

Here we encounter a fundamental difference between English and Japanese; in English "like" is a verb, but in Japanese, it is an adjective. That is, in English, we have the verb "to like". It's an action. We do it. In Japanese, the word is more like "something that is liked". It is a description.

In Japanese, there are two groups of adjectives. There are "i" adjectives and there are "na" adjectives. "Suki" is a NA adjective. We will explore the difference in a later lesson.

In everyday conversation, if you want to say that you like something, it goes a little something like this:

watashi WA - object - GA suki desu.

For example, "watashi wa inu ga suki desu" translates to "I like dogs". Notice that we are using GA, not WO, as a particle here. Why? Because you can't use WO on NA-adjectives. That's just the way it works.

So how do you say that you like something best? We looked at this a little bit in the colours lesson, and we'll go over it again. To single something out as your favourite, there are a few options:

watashi WA _____ GA ichiban suki desu.

Example - "watashi wa ringo ga ichiban suki desu" would mean "apples are my favourite".

"Ichiban" means first, or best. You may recognize it as a brand of ramen.

OR

watashi WA suki na CATEGORY GA _____ desu.

In this case, you are singling out your favourite from a group of things. Let's look at an example.

"watashi wa suki na kudamono ga ringo desu".

"kudamono" means fruit

So this sentence translates to roughly "Of all fruit, the one I like best is the apple".

So what do you say when you don't like something?

The Japanese word for "hate" is "kirai". Like "suki", it is a NA adjective. However, it is a very strong word, and people tend to avoid using it. If you really must say it, however, it works in exactly the same way as "suki". Just subject the object of your hatred and the word "kirai" into the sentences above, and there you go.

A more common dilemma is expressing that you don't really like something. Let's learn about that now.

There are three main ways to say this: formally, less formally and least formally. We'll start with the more formal:

_______ wa suki jaa arimasen.

This almost literally translates to "_____ is not really liked". A very useful expression.

Then on to the less formal:

______ wa suki jaa nai desu.

You'll notice it's very similar to the more formal way to say it, but without the big formal verb (arimasen) included. Lastly, you can say:

_____ wa chotto...

That ellipse is there for a reason. Literally translated, this means "____ is a bit...." and then you trail off without finishing your sentence. This is taken to mean that you don't really like whatever it is you are talking about.

Then, of course, we have the prefix "dai". You can tack it on to the front of "suki" to make "daisuki", or "really like", or you can tack t on to "kirai" to make "daikirai" or "really hate". You probably seen this prefix before - "dai" literally means big. Daisuki is "big like". Daigaku is "big learning", or university.

I think that's enough lesson for now. Question or comment? Post it for me here!  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

私は本当にキノコ食べているもの
Watashi wa hontōni kinoko tabete iru mono desu.
is this right sensei?
XD  

[Kai Shi]

Phoniex of Darkness

私は本当にキノコ食べているもの
Watashi wa hontōni kinoko tabete iru mono desu.
is this right sensei?
XD

Do you like or dislike mushrooms?　I'm happy to see you attempting the more complicated version of this, keep working hard!


私はすきなたべものがきのこです。

So in this case you are saying something like...:

A food that I like is mushrooms.


So...for more practice for you:

いちばんすきなくだものはなんですか。
ichiban suki na kudamono ha nan desu ka.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

いちばんすきなくだものはなんですか。
ichiban suki na kudamono ha nan desu ka.

okay i understood it  

[Bloody Rosen Knight]

Watashi wa suki seiniku ga toruko desu.

Is it okay if I use linguanaut.com to help me?  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

ichiban suki na kudamono ha nan desu ka.  

[xXSakura-chanxX67]

What is the difference in saying wa and ga again?
Also I think this is right..
Watashi wa ringo wo tabete suki desu(?)  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

ichiban suki na kudamono ha nan desu ka.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

ichiban suki na kudamono ha nan desu ka.  

[Kai Shi]

Kawaii Yami Rorita

ichiban suki na kudamono ha nan desu ka.

That's the question form. It means: What is your favourite food?

so to answer it you write: わたしのすきなたべものはアイスクリームです。 (My favourite food is ice cream)
You can change the underlined bit to whatever your favourite food is.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

oh okay gomen.
Watashi wa Suki na Kudamono ga ringo desu.  

[Kai Shi]

Kawaii Yami Rorita

oh okay gomen.
Watashi wa Suki na Kudamono ga ringo desu.

いいです！　Great!  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

Watashi wa Suki na Kudamono ga ringo desu.
arigatou sensei.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

Watashi wa suki kudamono ga ringo desu.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

Watashi wa chotto na kudamono ga orenji desu.