Daily lessons · Day 10 of 90
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Likes and wants
Say what you like and what you would like
Today is about preference, and it comes with a grammar point that catches almost everyone. In English you like something, and the something is the object. In Japanese the thing you like is the subject, and it takes が. Get that one particle right and you sound noticeably less like a beginner.
Saying what you like
好き is not a verb. It is an adjective, and it behaves like one:
すし を すきです is the single most recognisable beginner mistake in Japanese. The reason it is wrong is that すき is an adjective, not a verb, so there is no action and nothing to be the object of it. The sentence really means as for me, sushi is likeable, and the sushi is doing the being-likeable. That is why it takes が.
Saying what you want
Two different patterns, depending on whether you want a thing or want to do something:
Both ほしい and たい are about your own wants, and Japanese is careful here. Saying 田中さんは いきたいです claims to know what is inside another person's head, which the language avoids. About other people you would say 田中さんは いきたがっています, or simply ask them. For now, keep both patterns for yourself.
Softer than ほしい
In a shop or restaurant, wanting is usually expressed as a request rather than a statement:
ほしいです is a statement about your desires, and in a transaction that can land as slightly demanding. ください frames the same thing as a request and is what a Japanese speaker would actually say. Keep ほしい for conversations about wants in general, and use ください when you are actually buying something.
Carry over, from earlier days
Check yourself
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