好きです
suki desu
The English phrase "i like you" is expressed in Japanese as 好きです (suki desu).
好きです is a common and general way to say 'I like you' in formal situations. For a more intense feeling of liking or loving someone, you can use 大好きです or 大好きだよ. If you wish to express romantic love specifically, the phrase 愛しています translates to "I love you". To describe the person you like, you can use the term 好きな人, which means "person I like".
Meaning: I like you (phrase)
Which one should you use?
大好きです is a stronger and more emphatic version of 'I like you'. In informal settings, 大好きだよ expresses a stronger and deeper liking and means 'I really like you' or 'I love you'. For a formal and indirect way to convey liking someone, meaning 'I hold favorable feelings', you can use 好意を抱いています.
How do you pronounce it?
suki desu
What mistakes should you avoid?
in Japanese, the subject and object are often omitted when they are understood from context.
Did you know?
- The phrase 愛しています is so heavy and serious that many Japanese couples may go their entire lives without ever saying it to each other, preferring 好き for daily affection.
- In Japanese, the word 好き actually functions as an adjective meaning 'likable' rather than a verb meaning 'to like'. Saying 好きです is literally like saying 'you are likable' to the other person.
- While an English speaker might say 'I like you' to a friend, using 好きです to a platonic friend can be easily mistaken for a romantic confession.
Examples in context
- あなたのことが大好きです。I like you very much.This sentence is useful for expressing that you like someone very much using 好きです.Tatoeba #1452394 by bunbuku, translation #257095 by CK
- 好きです。付き合ってください。I like you. Please go out with me.This sentence is useful for a confession of feelings and asking someone to date using 好きです.Tatoeba #4153670 by tommy_san, translation #13572531 by CK
- 好きです。I like you.This sentence is useful for a simple declaration of liking someone using 好きです.Tatoeba #3697521 by ii_desu, translation #410751 by CK
- 先輩、私はあなたに好意を抱いています。Senior, I hold favorable feelings for you.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki is confessing her feelings to Kenta at a park.
- 美咲 Misaki健太さんのことが好きです。Kenta-san no koto ga suki desu.I like you, Kenta.
- 健太 Kentaえっ？本当に？E? Hontō ni?What? Really?
- 美咲 Misakiはい。ずっと前から好きです。Hai. Zutto mae kara suki desu.Yes. I've liked you for a long time.
- 健太 Kentaありがとう。僕も好きです。Arigatō. Boku mo suki desu.Thank you. I like you too.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
