To Really Like Something
“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.” - Collin Quek
You’ve learned how to say you like something, but there are times where that doesn’t cut it. In those times, when you really really like something (or perhaps even love something) you would use 大すき (だいすき). Let’s break this down really quickly.
大 (だい) = BIG. You learned this while you were learning your kanji (大).
すき = TO LIKE. You learned this just now.
Are you starting to piece these parts together now? Combine the two, and you have yourself:
大すき = BIG LIKE. This is for when you really, really like something, a lot. Often times, this word is defined as “love.”
Strangely, this word makes a ton of sense, right? If only English was this easy. I big like avocados. I big like Starcraft. I big like you. The best part is that when you use big like (er, I should say 大すき), it uses the same exact pattern as normal like (er, I mean すき).
a ねこ が すき です
I like cats
a ねこ が 大すき です
I really like cats / I love cats
a いぬ が すき です
I like dogs
a いぬ が 大すき です
I really like dogs / I love dogs
The patterns are exactly the same – all you’re doing is switching すき out with 大すき, making everything more lovable all around.
At this point, I just want you to create some of your own sentences. There isn’t too much to practice in this chapter, because the next chapter (all about hating things) follows a lot of the same patterns and will allow you to get more practice. For now, I just want to make sure that you understand how / why the pattern works (＿＿がすきです) and that you are able to create your own sentences as well (that’s what the following worksheet is for).
I’ve created a simple worksheet that will let you do this. All you need to do is come up with different things that you like, and write a sentence for each of them. You’ll have to look up some words (nouns) to add in there, though you can use your passion list as well. Download this worksheet and go through it, filling out the sentences. Pick things you both love (大すき) and just like (すき), so you can practice both.
After finishing this worksheet (shouldn’t take you too long), import the new vocab (just a couple) from this chapter into your TextFugu Vocab deck.
Now, there’s only one more thing to do before you move on.