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Japan has a lot to offer, but there is the rare occasion when knowing the phrase “I don’t like it,” can come in handy! Japan has so very much to offer, and chances are you’re going to like a lot of what you see and taste. However, we figured that you should be prepared just in case. So today, we do a complete 180 and introduce ways and degrees of like and dislike. For those of you who haven’t tried all Japanese cuisine has to offer, we strongly recommend you itune in!

Grammar: | Function: | Topic: | Politeness Level:


This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 at 5:04 am and is filed under Beginner Season 1 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

60 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #12 - I Don’t Like It!”

JapanesePod101.com says:

I have a few questions about this lesson. 1. Since you can say “totemo suki” and that means really like, could you say “totemo kirai” and have that mean really hate? Also could you say “kirai dewa arimasen” and have that mean that you barely dis-like something? 2. In lesson 11 you use ‘ga’ before ’suki’ like: “watashi wa amerika ryouri ga suki desu”, but in this lesson you don’t use ‘ga’, you have a ‘wa’ infront of “suki”, like in the first line of the conversation, “Toufu wa suki desu ka?” which you say is “do you like tofu?” but in lesson 11 you say “Nihon ga suki desu ka?” which you say is “Do you like Japan?”. So whats the difference between ‘ga’ and ‘wa’ before suki? 3. Lastly, how would I add “watashi” and “anata” in the dialog in this lesson’s notes. Plus, would you usualy add “watashi” or “anata” in every day sentances like these or would you normaly leave them out? Thank-You in advance for all of your help!

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Peter says:

Joey-san,
Thank you for listening and for your post!
In regards to your question:
1) Hmmm….tough question! I did some polling around the office and the common consensus is that you should go with dai kirai・だいきらい・大嫌い. For some reason it seems a bit unnatural for Japanese people to say totemo kirai, so we recommend you go with dai kirai.
1b) Kirai dewa arimasen, would mean, “I don’t dislike something,” which in a certain sense would mean that you think it is not bad. It would be the same as saying, “I don’t dislike it.” On a interesting note, that is actually what my wife said to me the first time I asked her, “What do you think of me?” She replied, “Well, I don’t dislike you (Kirai dewa arimasen.) We wound up married.
2) Yes, wa and ga. You are very sharp! Very, very sharp. I was wondering when this question was coming, as I caught it myself.
Hmmm…there have been books written on this subject, and so far none have really helped! Actually in lesson #11 when asking the question, we probably would have been better off using wa when asking,” Nihon wa suki desu ka?” However, this is such a confusing topic, even for us. We’ll have more, lots more about this in the learning center to come. Please hang on a minute. In the meantime an ok rule of thumb is to put the thing you like in front of the ga suki or ga kirai, e.g., (watashi wa) sushi ga suki (desu). Everything in parentheses is dropped when speaking to friends!!!!!! We’ll get to this in later lessons.

3) “Watashi” and “Anata” Similiar to the supplemental material provided in #11, they would go in the beginning as in the examples given at the end of the PDF notes in #11. In everyday conversation these would be dropped. As long as the two speaking people know who they are speaking to and about. It is quite a foreign concept for English speakers as the subject in our sentences is the starting point for everything! But in Japanese so much is inferred. Well cover a lot more of this.

Joey-san! Thank you for your inquisitive questions and picking up on the little details. Theses questions show to us that you are serious about Japanese, that you’re very sharp, and that you have a bright future with this language. Please keep the questions coming, we’ll do everything in our power to help. Please keep the emails and posts coming.

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Joey says:

doumo arigatou gozaimasu Peter-san!
These answers have cleared up a lot for me, and thank-you for the compliments too :grin:
I will be looking foreward towards the lessons that cover more on these topics.
Thank-you again!

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Peter says:

Joey-san,

Again, our pleasure. Anything we can do to help, just let us know.
Ganbatte kudasai!

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Qtoo says:

Konnichiwa!

Well.. i started these lesson’s a bit later than most ppl :D but i were wondering is the link for the audio track dead? sorry my bad english i live in finland so i hope you understand ;)

Im really excited in learning new language..

So keep up the good work :D

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Jonas says:

Qtoo-san: I think our host, libsyn, is stuggeling with dns problems, so this is the reason the older lessons are inaccessable. The guys over there are aware of the problem and working hard to resolve the issue.

Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause. Please bear with us a little longer.

Jonas

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Thomas says:

Isn’t “じゃありません” (ja arimasen) commonly used when speaking, instead of “dewa arimasen”?
And isn’t “anata” only used when referring to someone that has a lower status than yourself or for people that know eachother very well?

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Kat says:

Hi there!

It looks like the kanji close up link is also pointing to the review lesson link for this subject, instead of its separate file!! :)

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polo says:

hi there i just wanna know how to write dishes cooked food in japanies and what is ga in nani ga ……?

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John C. Briggs says:

Poloさん,
Let me try
りょうり, ryouri (n,vs) cooking; cookery; cuisine
The が ga in なに が is a subject marking partilcle.
ジョン

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polo says:

hi again

and arigatu briggas - san

i got the point

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curt says:

my girl friend told me to figure this one out!

it probably sounds stupid that im asking you this but i have tried to figure this out by myself with no success as of yet.

can you please tell me in english the meaning to:

watashi wa curt ga suki desu? :smile:

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Cindy says:

I’m pretty sure it means “I like curt.”

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Henry Charlton says:

In the vocabulary questions, a few are phrased like: パスタが有名な国はどこですか。

Why are “wa” and “ga” used like this? Isn’t the topic of the sentence “pasta” and the grammatical subject “famous country”? Shouldn’t the particles be the other way round? Am I missing something?

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Paul says:

Henry, my reading is that given that it’s a question whose answer is the name of a country, famous country is the topic. Pasta is the subject of the subordinate clause (pasta of a famous country) but not the main subject of the question, which is the name of the famous country. Subjects of subordinate clauses use “ga”.

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Shane says:

I am a late disciple of japanesepod101 and I have a question, a year after this episode was released.

My question is simply, does totemo suki dewa arimasen (とてもすきではありません) mean “I don’t really like it” or “I really don’t like it”?

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maxiewawa says:

Phew, that’s a very fine distinction, I’m not sure Japanese makes it.

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Shane says:

maxiewawa, what exactly do you mean?

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maxiewawa says:

In Japanese, there is no way of making the distinction between “I don’t really like it” and “I really don’t like it”. I’m not sure there is much of a difference in English either!

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Shane says:

“I really don’t like it” is harsher than “I don’t really like it”. The former is more like I hate it, whereas the second is more like saying it isn’t something you particular like.

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Paul says:

Of course Shane is right, Maxie. The difference between don’t really and really don’t is huge. One says you very much dislike something, the other says you don’t like it a lot. Chances are you’d eat something you don’t really like just to be polite but you wouldn’t eat it if you really didn’t like it.
Shane, I can’t answer your question with certainty but I reckon with totemo at the start it means you really don’t like it. Maybe to approach those meanings in Japanese you could use zenzen (not at all) and amari (not much). Both are used with negatives.

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Shane says:

OK, cool. Thanks Paul.

But I always thought zenzen meant totally and could be used for positive and negative (blame Haruhi Suzumiya).

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Paul says:

Well, it’s often used with the negative of the verb “understand” as in “zenzen wakarimasen”, which you could literally translate as “I totally don’t understand” or more elegantly as “I don’t understand at all”. But I have heard it used in positive sentences with the meaning of “totally”.

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Dana says:

haha i was about to ask the same question Joey-san asked about the “ga” and the “wa” i hope things will clear up in the next lessons :) thanks alot Peter-san :mrgreen:

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palmist81 says:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: like your lessons…..

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Candice says:

Hi, I’m just wondering if there’s a difference between ja arimasen and dewa arimasen. Is one more polite than the other?

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JapanesePod101.com says:

yes. ja arimasen is more casual than de wa arimasen. and you’ll probably see “de wa” in writing more than speaking.

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arisa says:

:neutral: in one of the first Japanese classes I took, i learned to say “suki jyanai desu” rather than “suki jya arimasen” or “suki de wa arimasen”.I know that “jyanai” is the plain form for “jya arimasen” but if you add “desu” to ‘jyanai’, is using that phrase equally OK for formal/polite situations? arigatou gozaimasu =]

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Mayumi says:

arisa-san,

“janai” is the contracted version of “de wa nai” and it is used in a casual speech. So, “janai desu” is the casula expression even if “desu” is added, because the sound of “ja” sounds casual. I think it would be better to use “de wa arimasen” in a formal and polite situation.

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Tommy says:

Another interesting lesson!

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Kelsie says:

So how exactly would you tell someone, politely, “I don’t like you”?

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Naomi says:

Kelsie-san

>>>So how exactly would you tell someone, politely, “I don’t like you”?

Well… How would YOU say it in ENGLISH? :mrgreen:

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Tomoyo Takahashi says:

Konnichiwa JapanesePod101.com!
I would just like to say:
ありがとうございました

I am from a Japanese bloodline and now I can communicate with my grandfather thanks to all of your podcasts. When I first began to learn Japanese (1 year ago), I learnt by ear and had no help anywhere. I couldn’t find any books or websites.

And then my friend suggested JapanesePod101. And I have to say I’ve not used anything else since! I’m glad for all the beginner lessons as I have been filled on very VITAL phrases that I didn’t know! And I know some complicated phrases because of grandfather :shock: so you guys have helped me a whole lot!! :dogeza:

My grandfather is now very proud of me as he thinks I will be a big musical linguist one day as I am also a good speaker of French, Chinese, Spanish as well as Japanese and English.

Once again:
ありがとうございました
高橋知世 (Takahashi Tomoyo) :mrgreen: :hachimaki: :nihon:

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Yuki says:

知世さん
おじいさんも喜んでいますね! :mrgreen:
これからも日本語の勉強頑張ってくださいね! :dogeza: :dogeza:

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Tomoyo Takahashi says:

ゆきさん
ありがとう!私は日本を愛しています! そして日本語を勉強することは楽しいです! 私のスピーチは良いです、しかし、私の文書はより良くなっています!
ありがとう!
知世

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fisharound says:

it is .
:kokoro: hai,daisukidesu.
:smile: hai, sukidesu.
:neutral: iie,anmaridesu.
:cry: iie, skijanai desu.
:nihon:
:kokoro: :hachimaki: :dogeza: :sad: :mad: :lol: :eek: :cry: :wink: :roll: :razz: :oops: :grin: :evil: :cool: :? ??: :smile: :shock: :twisted: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :neutral: :twisted: :shock: :smile: :???: :cool: :evil: :grin: :oops: :razz: :roll: :wink: :cry: :eek: :lol: :mad: :sad: :dogeza: :hachimaki: :kokoro: :nihon:

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mayumi says:

fisharound-san,
You can say “anmari desu,” to mean “it’s unreasonable” or “it’s terrible” when you want to make a complaint. “iie, anmari desu” would be better to say “iie, anmari (suki ja nai).” :wink:

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Robaato-san says:

Heya! (oh whoops, I just said “room”…that’s gonna get akward fast :lol:

Anyway! Something that Struck me as curious in this lesson’s PDF grammar points. “Kono machi wa kirei desu.” Or more specifically, the usage of: ‘Kono’ as ‘this’. Yet I’ve learnt elsewhere that ‘Kore’ is this. Is this a free usage situation or is there some rule that would lead me to using one over the other?

As for this lesson generally? Daisuki desu yo.

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Jessi says:

Robaato-san,
Good question! You are right, both kono and kore mean “this”, but kono always comes before a noun to specify “this [noun]”, while kore can stand alone and just means “this”. So this means that we can say:
“Kono machi wa kirei desu” and we CAN’T say “Kore machi wa kirei desu.”

Similarly, we can say:
“Kore wa kirei desu” and NOT “Kono wa kirei desu”.

I hope that clarified things for you :grin:

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jhie says:

domou arigatou peter–san to sakura…..

actually i know how to speak nihongo but m not really good

but hontouni arigatou

its really useful

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Jessi says:

jhieさん,
Thanks for the comment! We hope you continue to listen :cool:

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Mike says:

Hi guys, can i ask how can we say “i don’t really like ” in Japanese? in a nice, joking manner? Is it Watashi wa ga suki dewa arimasen. Thanks!

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Mike says:

Hi guys, can i ask how can we say “i don’t really like (name)” in Japanese? in a nice, joking manner? Is it Watashi wa (name) ga suki dewa arimasen. Thanks!

P.s sorry for the repost! it messed up.

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Naomi says:

Mike -san
Yes. “Watashi wa … ga suki dewa arimasen” would mean “I don’t like…” but it’s formal so it might not sound like you’re joking.
“… sukijanai” is more casual so I think this phrase is probably the phrase you’re looking for.In casual speech it’s OK to drop particles. So say the item you dislike and add sukijanai(don’t like)

I hope this helps. :wink:

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tony says:

is there a lesson that i can take that would help me say japanese clearly?
and wat does each sentence goes which because the subject is more confusing
than the verb at the end? :shock:

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causewaypond says:

Hi,
something i want to point out.
according to my teacher, she says that sushi should be pronouced with a o-

something like osushi.

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Nia says:

Thanks again for the lessons, and the insight towards approaching learning Japanese. I feel a lot more confident now.

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Macca says:

Causewaypond - o~ is an honorable prefix that you can add to the start of words (osushi, osake, etc.) to make it really polite/formal. It’s not always necessary, and shows respect for the item or the person you’re speaking to. So you might say “osushi ga totemo suki desu” to a sushi chef if you have great respect for him and his sushi, but you might say “sushi ga suki” to a close friend.

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Mayumi says:

Macca-san,
Thank you for answering the question from Causewaypond-san.

causewaypond-san
I think women always say o-sushi, and that’s why Causewaypond-san’s teacher told you so. :mrgreen:

Nia-san,
Glad to hear that you liked our lessons!

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kiki-chan says:

Konnichiwa!

I’m a free member, so I don’t have access to the other things, because I can’t afford it (I’m 15 and I don’t have a job. I have an eBook on sale that’s, well…..not selling). I know this sounds cheap and stupid, but is there anyone out there who would be willing to teach a rookie Kanji? I am already good with Hiragana and a little shaky with Katakana, but I’m willing to learn.

:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: *embarrassed*

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Jessi says:

kiki-chanさん,
Thanks for leaving us a comment!

I highly recommend that you check out our Youtube channel :mrgreen:
http://www.youtube.com/japanesepod101

Do a search for Kanji Corner, and you will see our videos done by Hiroko that teach you simple kanji :grin: Please check them out!

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samuzora says:

Minna sama,
I know that japanese “Love” word play jokes. example..
What kind of “Ki” (tree) do you not want to be under? A “Byouki”.
O.K. you can stop laughing now…. I just want want Our japanese friends to know we have them here in the “states’ as well.
Why does a “chicken coup” have only 2 doors? Well if it had 4 it would be a “chicken sedan”.
or my favorite
A horse walks into a bar. the bartender says “Hey why the long face?”
I only hope you don’t resend my membership after this. :smile:

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samuzora says:

Kiki-chan,
Here are the best things I can come up with to help you.
1.Rikaichan, it’s a free and simple app. that allows to simply scroll over kanji and kana giving you a translation of the word. just google it and find a download site.
2. Once you got that you’ll need a site or two to use it. I like the following..
TBS radio 954 and the japanese news service “FNN”.
TBS is good due to the fact the shows they run nearly all have “Homepages” were the talent post their blogs. Using Rikaichan here pays off.
FNN will give entree into the “Belly of the Beast”. That is the in’s and out’s,up’s and down’s of life in Nihon. Every thing from weather to who’s been caught taking bribes,you know all the same things we have in the rest of the world. Really great vocab builders.
Using these free options will keep you going forward till you start pulling down an income and afford great assets such as Pod 101.

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samuzora says:

Sorry for splitting this up,but didn’t want to go over the limit on that post.
Now I feel the single best thing you can do is get the money together to buy “Remembering the Kanji 1″ by James W. Heisig.
This book was it for me in my struggle with kanji, It would either help me learn or I was just going to quit japanese all together. Needless to say it did so in a big way,or I would not be using this site today.
It is geared to self study and didn’t just help me learn kanji, it helped me own kanji. So now using this site,Pod 101,really is paying off.
Once you get over that hurtle write out ever thing in japanese you can get. I write out all the conversations in the lessons here. I am on to intermediate lessons now and just going back over these ones to get more material to write out, so write,write,write.nothing is to simple once more write.

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GinRyuu says:

about wa and ga, my general understanding is ga is emphasis on what comes BEFORE, vs WA emphasising what comes after.
so

tofu wa suki desu ka?
and
Nihon ga suki desu ka?
In the first, the emphasis falls on “do YOU like it?” and not tofu.
in the second, the emphasis is on Japan, and not on whether or not you like it.

To say nihongo wa suki desu ka? would stress whether it is liked more than whether specifically, Japan is liked.

Kind of rough, but thats all i can do for that question.
and yes, it does confuse a lot of people, native and foreign alike

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おう says:

寿司は好きですか。はい、とても好きです。
刺身は好きですか。いいえ、好きでわありません。
豆腐は好きですか。いいえ、嫌いです。
納豆は好きですか。いいえ、大嫌いです。

また明日ね。

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yukiman says:

おうさん

Good try with Kanji and Hiragana!

刺身は好きですか。いいえ、好きでわありません。
>>刺身は好きですか。いいえ、好きでわ(⇒好きでは)ありません。

this わ need to be は, because it’s particle. Otherwise it’s just perfect!

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przem says:

Hello, everyone
I’m totally new to the language and the Japanese learning community and just wanted to say thank you for this excellent site and its infectious enthusiasm :smile:
What a fantastic language Japanese is!
Funnily enough, in Polish “suki” means “bitches” :lol:
Mata ne

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Kotone says:

Kore wa nani nitsuitedesu?? :razz: :razz:

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Elf says:

私はポケモンが大好きですけど、ルージェラが大嫌いです。

I love Pokemon, but I really hate Jynx. ^^

Great lesson. I’ve already got a basic understanding here, just felt like putting the comment. =^.^=

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