How to Say ‘What do you like?’ in Japanese
何が好きですか。
nani ga suki desu ka
[na-ni ga skee dess ka]
💬 Usage Tip: With 好き, the thing liked takes が, not を: 何が好き. You'd say 寿司が好きです "I like sushi" the same way.
Phrase Breakdown
何が
nani ga
what (as subject)
何 (nani) means 'what'. が (ga) marks it as the subject. Say it smoothly: 'nani ga'.
何が欲しいですか。
What do you want?
Words in this phrase
何
nani
[na-ni]
what
Used to ask for information about something.
何が欲しい？
What do you want?
が
ga
[ga]
subject marker
A particle marking the subject of the sentence.
興味がある分野を教えてください。
Please tell me the field you are interested in.
好きですか。
suki desu ka
do you like?
好き (suki) means 'liked'. The 'u' in 'su' is nearly silent: 'ski desu ka'.
犬が好きですか。
Do you like dogs?
Words in this phrase
好き
suki
[skee]
like; fond of
Used to describe something or someone you like.
営業のお仕事がお好きですか。
Do you like sales work?
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
か
ka
[ka]
question particle
Used to create a yes/no question in informal speech.
行くか？
Shall we go?
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