le gusta
/le ɡusta/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'he likes' is translated as le gusta.
This phrase is used to state that a male person finds something pleasant or enjoyable. The form le gusta is ambiguous and can mean "he likes," "she likes," or "you (formal) like" depending on the context.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, le gusta translates to 'it is pleasing to him'.
Which one should you use?
To clarify that the subject is specifically "he" and not "she" or "you," you can add a él before the phrase to create a él le gusta.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the thing being liked is the subject of the sentence. If the thing he likes is plural, you must change the verb to the plural form le gustan.
How do you pronounce it?
/le ɡusta/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say él gusta to mean "he likes," but in Spanish, the thing being liked is the subject of the sentence.
Did you know?
- The word le in le gusta is a dative pronoun, tracing back to the Latin illī, which functioned as the dative form of 'that man' or 'that person'.
- Because le gusta is so ambiguous, Spanish speakers often use a pointing gesture or a nod toward the person they are talking about to avoid using the clarifying a él.
- In many Spanish-speaking regions, if a speaker wants to emphasize a strong preference, they might use the phrase le encanta instead of le gusta, which functions more like 'he loves' or 'he finds delightful'.
Examples in context
- Le gusta el té.He likes tea.Tatoeba #1118759 by Shishir, translation #1098268 by cntrational
- Le gusta el jazz.He likes jazz.Tatoeba #4482210 by cueyayotl, translation #2851591 by Amastan
- Le gusta el melón.He likes cantaloupe.Tatoeba #4471791 by cueyayotl, translation #1916075 by Spamster
- Le gusta la música clásica.He likes classical music.
- A él le agrada estudiar matemáticas.He likes to study mathematics.
- Le da gusto escuchar música en vivo.He enjoys listening to live music.
- 183 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are talking about Daniel's brother.
- Elena¿Le gusta la comida italiana?Does he like Italian food?
- DanielSí, le gusta mucho la pasta.Yes, he likes pasta a lot.
- ElenaQué bueno, Daniel.That's good, Daniel.
- DanielA él le encanta comer bien.He loves eating well.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries le, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
