〜がすき / 〜がきらい
In this lesson, you will learn how to say 'I like' and 'I dislike', with the adjectives すき and きらい. We will learn how to use them with nouns and verbs, along with some derived forms.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to talk about the things you like, or don't like.
すき and きらい are both な adjectives and can be used to express what we like and what we dislike. We can use them with nouns and verbs, and their grammatical construction will look like the one we saw for じょうず.
With a noun, we will use this structure: (noun) がすき (です)
With a verb, we will use this structure: (verb) のがすき (です)
Again, the の particle is a nominalizer in this case. As you can see, it is the same construction as with the adjective じょうず.
すき and きらい are な adjectives.
すきなたべものは何ですか？
Sukina tabemono wa nan desu ka?
What is your favourite food?
バナナとみかんがすきです。
Banana to mikan ga suki desu.
I like bananas and mandarins.
ひまの時間のあいだに何をする？
Hima no jikan no aida ni nani o suru?
What do you do during your free time?
さんぽするのがすき。
Sanpo suru no ga suki.
I like to go on walks.
きらいなたべものは何ですか？
Kiraina tabemono wa nan desu ka?
What is your least favourite food?
なすとこんやくがきらいです。
Nasu to konyaku ga kirai desu.
I dislike aubergines and konyaku.
If we add the prefix 大 (だい) to すき and きらい, it adds the meaning of 'to love' and 'to hate'.
おにいちゃんがだいすき！
Oniichan ga daisuki!
I love my big brother!
あいつがだいきらい。。。
Aitsu ga daikirai...
I hate this guy...
りょうりするのがだいきらい。
Ryouri suru no ga daikirai.
I hate cooking.
In the case of nouns with the verb する, like りょうりする, unlike with the adjective じょうず, we cannot omit the verb する, because sometimes, it changes the sense of the sentence.
りょうりがだいきらい。
Ryouri ga daikirai.
In this sentence, you say that you hate cuisine, it does not imply that you hate the action of cooking. So, you have to be careful, especially out of context. Let's take the example that you are at your friend's place and they have cooked for you. You want to tell them you hate cooking, but do not include the verb する. This can change the meaning from 'I hate cooking' to 'I hate your cuisine/food'. That would be embarrassing! はずかしい！
本をよむのがだいすきです。
Hon o yomu no ga daisuki desu.
I love reading books.
Of course, you can use adverbs to intensify the feeling. Words like とても, すごく and めっちゃ can be used before the adjective to say that we really like something.
えいがをみるのがとてもすきです。
Eiga o miru no ga totemo suki desu.
I really like watching movies.
えぇ、これめっちゃすき！
Ee, kore meccha suki!
Ooh, I really like this!