Lesson 15 of 24
I Like It, but My Tongue Disagrees
about 14 minutes
After this lesson you can
- Say what you like, dislike and are good at, and add a contrast.
Words this lesson teaches
- きらい
- disliked
- じょうず
- good at (said of others)
- へた
- not good at
- でも
- but (starting a sentence)
- けど
- but (joining two clauses)
- りょうり
- cooking
- うた
- singing, a song
- え
- drawing, a picture
- ゲーム
- a game
- たべもの
- food
What it explains
きらい takes が, like すき
からい たべものが きらいです — I dislike spicy food. Same shape as すき, and it is a な adjective, so the negative is きらいじゃありません. きらい is strong; あまり すきじゃありません is the softer way to say you would rather not, and is what most people reach for.
じょうず and へた, and why they need care
りょうりが じょうずです means good at cooking. Two things to know. Saying it about yourself sounds boastful in a way the English does not — わたしは りょうりが じょうずです will land oddly, and とくいです or nothing at all is safer. And へた said about someone else is blunt; あまり じょうずじゃありません is the version people actually use.
でも, けど and が for "but"
でも starts a new sentence: …です。でも…. けど and が join two halves inside one sentence: すきですけど、からいです. They are near-identical in meaning; けど is the more conversational and が the more written. Any of the three will be understood, so pick one and move on.
The scene itself is in the app.
Lesson one of this track is free to read in full. From lesson two on, the story, the audio and the review are part of a free account.
