other N5 common casualpolitewritten
好きだ — to like
好きだ ・ すきだ
Meaning
- to like / to be fond of — a な-adjective predicate of fondness, not a verb
Key sentence
私は犬が好きだ。
I like dogs.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun が + 好きだ (な-adjective) | N が好きだ / 好きな N | 好きな食べ物 (a food I like) |
Examples
彼女は静かな音楽が好きだ。
She likes quiet music.
子供のころ、夏が好きだった。
When I was a kid, I liked summer.
私はあなたのことが好きです。
I like you.
When you can't use it
- The thing you like is marked が, NOT を: 犬が好きだ, never 犬を好きだ. 好きだ is an adjective, not a verb, so its object behaves like a subject and takes が.
Easily confused with
Notes
- Intensify with 大好きだ ('love / really like'). The opposite is 嫌いだ ('dislike'), also a な-adjective whose object takes が. With a person, のこと is often added: あなたのことが好き sounds warmer and more natural than あなたが好き.
See 好きだ in real sentences
Jengo shows 好きだ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.