Japanese Lesson 19 – Likes & Dislikes · N5

📋 Expression Reference — Likes & Dislikes

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
～がすきです	~ ga suki desu	わたしもすきです Watashi mo suki desu	Stating you like something
～がだいすきです	~ ga daisuki desu	いいですね！ Ii desu ne!	Stating you love something
～がきらいです	~ ga kirai desu	そうですか Sou desu ka	Stating you dislike something
～がにがてです	~ ga nigate desu	わたしもにがてです Watashi mo nigate desu	Softer way to say dislike
いちばんすきな～はなんですか？	Ichiban suki na ~ wa nan desu ka?	～がいちばんすきです ~ ga ichiban suki desu	Asking about favourites

CASUAL — カジュアル

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
～がすき	~ ga suki	おれも！ Ore mo!	Like (casual)
だいすき！	Daisuki!	いいね！ Ii ne!	Love it!
まあまあ	Maa maa	—	So-so
べつに…	Betsu ni...	—	Not really... (dismissive)

SLANG — スラング

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
めっちゃすき！	Meccha suki!	わかるー！ Wakaruu!	Love it SO much
まじさいこう！	Maji saikou!	ね！ Ne!	Seriously the best!
びみょう…	Bimyou...	わかる Wakaru	Meh / questionable

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — STANDARD · Student Food Survey

みき

ケビンさん、にほんのたべものでなにがいちばんすきですか？

Kevin-san, nihon no tabemono de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?

Kevin, what Japanese food do you like best?

[CATEGORY] でなにがいちばんすきですか？

[category] de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?

[category] among what [subj] most like [question]?

→ "Among [CATEGORY], what do you like best?"

ケビン

すしがいちばんすきです。でも、なっとうはにがてです。

Sushi ga ichiban suki desu. Demo, nattou wa nigate desu.

I like sushi best. But I'm not good with natto.

[THING] がいちばんすきです

[thing] ga ichiban suki desu

[thing] [subj] most like is

→ "I like [THING] best."

みき

そうですか。わたしもなっとうはあまりすきじゃないです。

Sou desu ka. Watashi mo nattou wa amari suki ja nai desu.

I see. I don't really like natto either.

B — CASUAL · Music Preferences

ゆうと

さいきん、どんなおんがくきいてる？

Saikin, donna ongaku kiiteru?

What music have you been listening to lately?

はな

ジェイポップがだいすき！まいにちきいてるよ。

Jeipoppu ga daisuki! Mainichi kiiteru yo.

I love J-pop! I listen every day.

ゆうと

いいね。おれはロックのほうがすきだな。

Ii ne. Ore wa rokku no hou ga suki da na.

Nice. I prefer rock.

[A] のほうがすき

[A] no hou ga suki

[A] direction [subj] like

→ "I prefer [A]." (comparison)

C — SLANG · Friends Chatting about a Game

さくら

ねえ、あのゲームやった？めっちゃたのしいよ！

Nee, ano geemu yatta? Meccha tanoshii yo!

Hey, did you play that game? It's super fun!

りく

うん！だいすき！まいにちやってる。

Un! Daisuki! Mainichi yatteru.

Yeah! I love it! I play every day.

さくら

でもあのキャラはきらい。ぜんぜんつよくない…

Demo ano kyara wa kirai. Zenzen tsuyokunai...

But I hate that character. Not strong at all...

ぜんぜん [ADJ-negative]

zenzen [ADJ-negative]

at-all [adj-not]

→ "Not [ADJ] at all..."

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

Degree scale — だいきらい → だいすき

ALL REGISTERS

だいきらい → きらい → まあまあ → すき → だいすき

daikirai → kirai → maamaa → suki → daisuki

→ hate → dislike → so-so → like → love

が not を — marking what you like

✓ CORRECT

すしがすきです

Sushi ga suki desu

すき and きらい take が to mark the object of feeling.

✗ WRONG

すしをすきです

Sushi wo suki desu

を is wrong here. すき is a な-adjective describing a state, not an action verb.

Asking favourites

STANDARD

いちばんすきなたべものはなんですか？

Ichiban suki na tabemono wa nan desu ka?

→ "What is your favourite food?"

CASUAL

いちばんすきなたべものなに？

Ichiban suki na tabemono nani?

→ "What's your fave food?"

Comparative preference — ～のほうがすき

STANDARD

コーヒーよりおちゃのほうがすきです

Koohii yori ocha no hou ga suki desu

→ "I prefer tea to coffee."

CASUAL

ロックのほうがすきだな

Rokku no hou ga suki da na

→ "I prefer rock."

にがて vs きらい — soft vs direct dislike

🟢 SOFT — にがて

なっとうはにがてです

Nattou wa nigate desu

I'm not good with natto

Softer, less blunt. Implies personal difficulty, not judgment.

🔴 DIRECT — きらい

なっとうはきらいです

Nattou wa kirai desu

I dislike natto

Stronger, more direct. Can sound rude in polite contexts.

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

tap to flip

1 / 10

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

～がすきです (Liking with が)

Use が (not を) to mark what you like. すき is a な-adjective, not a verb, so it takes が.

• Pattern: [thing] がすきです
• Negative: すきじゃないです / すきではありません

[THING] がすきです

[thing] ga suki desu

→ "I like [THING]."

おんがくがすきです。

Ongaku ga suki desu.

I like music.

すき as な-adjective (すきな～)

When すき modifies a noun, add な: すきなたべもの = "food that I like / favourite food."

• Same for きらいな、にがてな

すきな [NOUN]

suki na [noun]

→ "favourite [NOUN] / [NOUN] that I like"

すきないろはあおです。

Suki na iro wa ao desu.

My favourite colour is blue.

Degree Scale: だいきらい → だいすき

Japanese has a clear five-step scale:

• だいきらい (hate) → きらい (dislike) → まあまあ (so-so) → すき (like) → だいすき (love)

Add だい (大) for emphasis at either end.

だい + すき / きらい

dai + suki / kirai

→ stronger feeling (love / hate)

チョコレートがだいすきです！

Chokoreeto ga daisuki desu!

I love chocolate!

～のなかでいちばん (Superlative)

To ask/state the favourite among a group:

• Question: [group] のなかで [what] がいちばんすきですか？
• Answer: [thing] がいちばんすきです

[GROUP] のなかでなにがいちばんすきですか？

[group] no naka de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?

→ "Among [GROUP], what do you like best?"

くだもののなかでなにがいちばんすきですか？

Kudamono no naka de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?

Among fruits, what do you like best?

～より～のほうがすき (Comparative Preference)

To compare two things: A より B のほうがすきです = "I prefer B to A."

• Or shorter: B のほうがすき

[A] より [B] のほうがすきです

[A] yori [B] no hou ga suki desu

→ "I prefer [B] to [A]."

コーヒーよりおちゃのほうがすきです。

Koohii yori ocha no hou ga suki desu.

I prefer tea to coffee.

にがて vs きらい (Soft vs Direct Dislike)

にがて is softer — "I'm not good with / I have difficulty with."
きらい is more direct — "I dislike."

• In polite situations, にがて is safer and less rude.

[THING] はにがてです (soft) / きらいです (direct)

[thing] wa nigate desu / kirai desu

→ "I'm not great with [THING]." / "I dislike [THING]."

からいたべものはにがてです。

Karai tabemono wa nigate desu.

I'm not great with spicy food.

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
すき	suki	like (な-adj)
きらい	kirai	dislike (な-adj)
だいすき	daisuki	love / really like
だいきらい	daikirai	hate / really dislike
にがて	nigate	not good with / weak point
まあまあ	maamaa	so-so
いちばん	ichiban	number one / most / best
～のほうが	~ no hou ga	prefer ~ (comparison)
べつに	betsu ni	not really (dismissive)
めっちゃ	meccha	super / very (slang)
たべもの	tabemono	food
おんがく	ongaku	music
たのしい	tanoshii	fun / enjoyable
さいこう	saikou	the best / awesome