日本語が大好きです
The English phrase 'i love japanese' is translated into Japanese as 日本語が大好きです.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For an informal version, you can use 日本語が大好きだ by replacing です (desu) with だ (da), which is suitable for use with friends or in a diary. Even more casual options include Nihongo daisuki! or Nihongo suki ya!
How does it change in a sentence?
In the sentence 日本語が大好きです, the subject 'I' (watashi) is omitted, which is the most natural way to say it in Japanese. The particle が (ga) marks the object of your affection, and 大好き (daisuki) is the adjective used to express 'love' or 'like very much'.
Did you know?
- The word 日本語 (Nihongo) consists of three characters: 日本 (Japan) and 語 (language). The first two characters are a poetic way of saying 'the sun's origin'.
- Japanese has a concept called 甘え (amae), which describes the desire to be loved and pampered, a feeling that cannot be captured by a simple translation of 'love' in 大好き.
- While 大好き (daisuki) is translated as 'love', using the verb 愛している (aishiteiru) to express love for a language would sound unnaturally intense or poetic to a native speaker.
Examples in context
- 日本語が大好きです。Nihongo ga daisuki desu.I love Japanese.
- 昔から日本語が大好きです。Mukashi kara Nihongo ga daisuki desu.I have loved Japanese since a long time ago.
Example conversation
Two students are talking about their favorite school subject.
- 蓮 Ren美咲さんは、どの言語が好きですか。Misaki-san wa, dono gengo ga suki desu ka.Misaki, which language do you like?
- 美咲 Misaki私は日本語が大好きです。Watashi wa nihongo ga daisuki desu.I love Japanese.
- 蓮 Renいいですね。勉強は楽しいですか。Ii desu ne. Benkyō wa tanoshii desu ka.That's great. Is studying it fun?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、とても楽しいです。Hai, totemo tanoshii desu.Yes, it is very fun.
