They're Adjectives, Not Verbs
This is the whole lesson in one line: 好き and 嫌い are な-adjectives. English treats "like" as a verb, so learners reach for を — and that is the error.
Topic は + Thing が + 好き/嫌い + です
- 私は寿司が好きです。(I like sushi.)
- ×私は寿司を好きです。
Because they are adjectives, the thing liked is a subject, not an object — so it takes が. Our lesson on likes and wants covers this with たい and ほしい.
Conjugating Them
They follow な-adjective rules exactly:
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-past | 好きです | 好きじゃないです |
| Past | 好きでした | 好きじゃなかったです |
Never ×好きくない — that is the い-adjective pattern.
Before a Noun, Add な
- 好きな音楽 (music I like)
- 嫌いな食べ物 (food I dislike)
Strength: 大好き and 大嫌い
大 intensifies both:
- 大好き — love it
- 大嫌い — hate it
A Warning About 好き and People
Saying 田中さんが好きです about a person is normally read as a romantic confession. To say you like someone as a person, use いい人です or 好感が持てる instead.
Softening 嫌い
嫌い is blunt. In polite company people soften it:
- あまり好きじゃないです。(I don't like it much.) — the usual choice
- ちょっと苦手です。(It's not really my thing.) — gentler still
苦手 is the safe way to decline food without sounding harsh.
Liking an Activity
To like doing something, nominalise the verb with の:
- 走るのが好きです。(I like running.)
- 本を読むのが好きです。(I like reading.)