Likes, interest, confidence
Collocations, Stage 2chunk 18 of 24Senses & mind
How you feel about a thing or a plan: you like it, you're into it, you can't wait, you're sure you can do it.
- ki ni irulike, be pleased with
- kyoumi ga arube interested (in)
- tanoshimi ni surulook forward to
- jishin ga arube confident (in yourself, your answer)
Mix-ups English 'interested' and 'confident' are adjectives, but here they are nouns that exist: kyoumi aru, jishin aru (or nai). ki ni itta (I love it) sounds like ki ni natta (it bugged me).
ki ni iru
polite ki ni irimasulike, be pleased with
気に入る きにいる 気に入ります
verbiru 入るenter, go in (an old reading of hairu); the thing gets into your hearttypical 14% of ki
trap English says 'I love it' in the present, but Japanese says the past, ki ni itta. iru here conjugates like hairu (itta, irimasu), not like iru 'be' (ita, imasu).
Nearly always past or -te ru: ki ni itta (I love it, about a gift, purchase or place) and ki ni itteru (I really like it, I've taken to it). The thing you like takes ga or o, and casual speech drops both: kore ki ni itta. Giving a gift: ki ni itte kureru to ii na (I hope you like it).
kore sugoi ki ni itta!
I love this!
これすごい気に入った！
kore, sugoku ki ni irimashita.
I really love this.
これ、すごく気に入りました。
The negative ki ni iranai (I don't like it) is mostly said about someone's attitude and sounds combative: ano taido ga ki ni iranai. okiniiri means favourite: kore, okiniiri na no.
Learn alongside: ki ga tsuku, ki o tsukau (Stage 3)Main list: ki ni naru (Stage 2), suki (Stage 2), hairu (Stage 1)
kyoumi ga aru
polite kyoumi ga arimasube interested (in)
興味がある きょうみがある 興味があります
verbaru あるthere is, exist; here you have (an) interesttypical 23% of kyoumi
trap For 'I'm interested', learners say watashi wa omoshiroi, which means 'I'm funny', or kyoumi desu. Japanese says the interest exists, and the topic takes ni: X ni kyoumi ga aru. X ga omoshiroi (X is interesting) is also fine, but it describes the thing, not you.
The topic takes ni, and casual speech often drops ga: X ni kyoumi aru? The blunt reply kyoumi nai (not interested) is very common.
anime toka kyoumi aru?
Are you into anime or anything?
アニメとか興味ある？
anime toka ni kyoumi ga arimasu ka?
Are you interested in anime or anything like that?
アニメとかに興味がありますか？
kyoumi o motsu (take an interest in) is the version for an interest someone develops: anime ni kyoumi o motta.
Same verb: yuuki (courage), kanshin (interest, more formal)Main list: aru (Stage 1), omoshiroi (Stage 3), motsu (Stage 1)
tanoshimi ni suru
polite tanoshimi ni shimasulook forward to
楽しみにする たのしみにする 楽しみにします
verbsuru するdo, make; with X ni, make something into X (here, a pleasure ahead), not the 'go with' of kore ni surutypical 57% of tanoshimi
trap English 'look forward to' has no matching verb, and 'I can't wait' as matenai sounds like you've run out of patience. Say tanoshimi ni shiteru or just tanoshimi!; machikirenai (can't wait) is also fine.
Nearly always in -te ru for how you feel now: tanoshimi ni shiteru (I'm looking forward to it). The thing takes o, often dropped: ryokou tanoshimi ni shiteru. Polite tanoshimi ni shitemasu closes many messages and plans.
jaa, raishuu tanoshimi ni shiteru ne.
Okay, looking forward to next week!
じゃあ、来週楽しみにしてるね。
jaa, raishuu tanoshimi ni shitemasu ne.
Well then, I'm looking forward to next week.
じゃあ、来週楽しみにしてますね。
tanoshimi ni shitete ne (look forward to it!) is what you say when you've planned a surprise.
Main list: tanoshimi (Stage 4), suru (Stage 1), -ni suru (Stage 3), matsu (Stage 3)
jishin ga aru
polite jishin ga arimasube confident (in yourself, your answer)
自信がある じしんがある 自信があります
verbaru あるthere is, exist; here you have it (confidence)typical 32% of jishin
trap 'Confident' is an adjective in English, but Japanese has confidence: jishin aru / jishin nai, and a confident person is jishin aru hito. For 'I'm not sure I can do it', a bare wakaranai sounds like 'I don't know'; say jishin nai, or dekiru ka wakaranai, which is also fine.
Heard as often in the negative as the positive, with ga dropped: jishin nai (I'm not sure I can) before a test, an interview or a date. What you're confident in takes ni: ryouri ni wa jishin aru (I'm good at cooking and I know it).
ashita no mensetsu, anmari jishin nai na.
I'm not too confident about tomorrow's interview.
明日の面接、あんまり自信ないな。
ashita no mensetsu, amari jishin ga nai n desu.
I'm not very confident about tomorrow's interview.
明日の面接、あまり自信がないんです。
To encourage someone it's motto jishin motte (yo), with motsu, not aru. jishin manman (full of confidence) can sound teasing; the same sound jishin also means earthquake.
Same verb: kyoumi (interest), yuuki (courage), yaruki (motivation)Main list: aru (Stage 1), sonna koto nai (Stage 4), wakaru (Stage 2)