How is 好き used in "僕が好きなのは "


I was reading an example sentence:

> 僕が **好き** なのは日本料理ではなくタイ料理だ

Here, I understand that 僕 is the subject in the first part of the sentence
僕が好きなのは. But as I understand the sentence as a whole, it means that:

> I like not Japanese dishes but Thai dishes.

But 好き describes the subject as the one being liked. 僕 is **not** the one we
like, right?

Is it correct to say that 僕が好きなのは日本料理ではなくタイ料理だ can also be written:

> 僕が好きな料理は日本料理ではなくタイ料理だ?

What verb is then 僕 the subject for?




> But 好き describes the subject as the one being liked. 僕 is not the one we
> like, right?

In main clauses, yes, this is true. In "AはBが好きだ", B is the one being liked.
However, in relative clauses, you cannot use は, and both A and B can be marked
with が:

  * AはBが好きだ。  
A likes B. (literally: As for A, B is a favorite).

  * ____Bが好きなA  
A who likes B  
(A has been pulled out)

  * A **が** ____好きなB  
B which A likes  
(B has been pulled out, and Aは has been changed to Aが)

See my previous answers, too:

  * [Relative Clause Ambiguous](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/60385/5010)
  * [が in subordinate clauses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/30171/5010)

Your sentence is a [cleft
sentence](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/19208/5010), which involves a
type of relative clause before the の. This means 僕が好きなのはXだ is indeed an
ambiguous sentence that can technically mean either of the following:

  * The thing I like is X. / It's X that I like.
  * The one who likes me is X. / It's X who likes me.

In your sentence, X corresponds to 日本料理ではなくタイ料理 ("not Japanese dishes but Thai
dishes"), which never loves a person. So the only possible interpretation is
the former.

Practically speaking, in more than 90% of the time, 僕が好きなのはXだ should mean
"It's X that I like". But in the following context, 僕が好きなのはXだ clearly means
"It's X who like(s) me".

> この4人の女の子は、みんな太郎と僕のどちらかのことが好きだ。太郎のことが好きなのはAさんとBさんで、 **僕が好きなのは** CさんとDさん **だ**
> 。  
>  All these four girls like either Taro or me. It's A and B who like Taro,
> and it's C and D who like me.




> But 好き describes the subject as the one being liked. 僕 is not the one we
> like, right?

In main clauses, yes, this is true. In "AはBが好きだ", B is the one being liked.
However, in relative clauses, you cannot use は, and both A and B can be marked
with が:

  * AはBが好きだ。  
A likes B. (literally: As for A, B is a favorite).

  * ____Bが好きなA  
A who likes B  
(A has been pulled out)

  * A **が** ____好きなB  
B which A likes  
(B has been pulled out, and Aは has been changed to Aが)

See my previous answers, too:

  * [Relative Clause Ambiguous](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/60385/5010)
  * [が in subordinate clauses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/30171/5010)

Your sentence is a [cleft
sentence](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/19208/5010), which involves a
type of relative clause before the の. This means 僕が好きなのはXだ is indeed an
ambiguous sentence that can technically mean either of the following:

  * The thing I like is X. / It's X that I like.
  * The one who likes me is X. / It's X who likes me.

In your sentence, X corresponds to 日本料理ではなくタイ料理 ("not Japanese dishes but Thai
dishes"), which never loves a person. So the only possible interpretation is
the former.

Practically speaking, in more than 90% of the time, 僕が好きなのはXだ should mean
"It's X that I like". But in the following context, 僕が好きなのはXだ clearly means
"It's X who like(s) me".

> この4人の女の子は、みんな太郎と僕のどちらかのことが好きだ。太郎のことが好きなのはAさんとBさんで、 **僕が好きなのは** CさんとDさん **だ**
> 。  
>  All these four girls like either Taro or me. It's A and B who like Taro,
> and it's C and D who like me.

