日本食が大好きです
Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu
To say "I love japanese food" in Japanese, you say 日本食が大好きです (Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu).
This phrase is used to express a strong liking for food from Japan. You can use the term 日本食 (Nihonshoku) to refer to Japanese food, or you can use the synonym 和食 (washoku) when referring specifically to traditional Japanese cuisine.
What does it mean word for word?
The word です (desu) is a polite copula used at the end of the sentence to make the statement polite.
Which one should you use?
If you want to say "I like Japanese food" instead of "I love Japanese food", replace 大好き (daisuki) with 好き (suki).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a formal approach, you can say Watashi wa Nihon no tabemono ga daisuki desu. To be more informal or casual, you can use Nihon no tabemono ga suki da yo! or replace the polite です (desu) with the plain form だ (da) to say 日本食が大好きだ.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word です (desu) functions as a polite copula (is / am / are) at the end of the sentence to provide a polite tone.
How do you pronounce it?
Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu
Did you know?
- While 大好き (daisuki) is the standard for 'love', some foodies use the term 沼 (numa), meaning 'swamp', to describe being so obsessed with a food that they have fallen into a hole they cannot escape.
- While 和食 (washoku) refers to traditional cuisine, it is recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This designation protects the social practice of preparing and eating these foods as a cultural identity.
- The word 好き (suki) is grammatically treated as an adjective in Japanese, meaning the phrase is structured more like 'Japanese food is lovable' than 'I love Japanese food'.
Examples in context
- 日本食が大好きです。Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu.I love Japanese food.
- 実は、日本食が大好きです。Jitsu wa, Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu.Actually, I love Japanese food.
- 子供の頃から、日本食が大好きです。Kodomo no koro kara, Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu.I have loved Japanese food since I was a child.
Example conversation
Yui and Hiroto are talking about what to eat for dinner.
- 結衣 Yui今日の夕飯は何がいい？Kyou no yuuhan wa nani ga ii?What would you like for dinner tonight?
- 大翔 Hirotoお寿司はどうかな？Osushi wa dou kana?How about sushi?
- 結衣 Yuiいいですね！日本食が大好きです。Ii desu ne! Nihonshoku ga daisuki desu.That sounds great! I love Japanese food.
- 大翔 Hirotoじゃあ、お店に行こう。Jaa, omise ni ikou.Then, let's go to the restaurant.
