me gustan los deportes
/me ɡustan los depoɾtes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I like sports" is translated into Spanish as me gustan los deportes.
This phrase is used to express a general fondness for athletic activities. Depending on the intensity of your interest, you might also use Me encanta el baloncesto to say you love basketball or Me apasiona el emocionante mundo del deporte to express that you are passionate about the exciting world of sports.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is structured such that los deportes is the subject and me is the indirect object, literally meaning "sports are pleasing to me".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you may hear the colloquial expression Me mola el deporte to mean "I'm into sports".
How does it change in a sentence?
Because deportes is a plural noun, the verb must be in the third-person plural form, gustan. If you choose to use the singular noun deporte instead, the verb must change to the singular form gusta, resulting in me gusta el deporte.
How do you pronounce it?
/me ɡustan los depoɾtes/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying yo gusto los deportes. English speakers often make this error by translating "I like" literally, but in Spanish, the thing being liked is the subject of the sentence.
Did you know?
- The word deportes shares a distant linguistic relative in the English word 'report', as both can be traced back to the idea of carrying or bringing something forward.
- If you want to say you 'do' a sport as a regular hobby, you should use the verb practicar. While English speakers say they 'play' or 'do' sports, a Spanish speaker would say they practican un deporte.
- If you want to say you are a fan of a specific team rather than just the activity, you might say Soy aficionado a…, which stems from a word for 'affection' or 'fondness'.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their hobbies during a walk.
- Sofía¿Te gusta la música o prefieres el ejercicio?Do you like music or do you prefer exercise?
- MateoLa verdad es que me gustan los deportes.The truth is that I like sports.
- Sofía¡Qué bien! A mí también me encantan.That's great! I love them too.
- MateoPodemos ir a jugar al fútbol mañana.We can go play soccer tomorrow.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries los, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
