Sushi wa sukidesuka vs sushi ga sukidesuka?


According to Google, I should use ga:

(Anata wa) sushi ga sukidesuka?

Why ga and not wa?




This is a big question, because it can't be answered fully without going deep
into the semantics of は and が, and I linked in the comment to an excellent
post that does just that.

However, without context, here's what we can say.

> すしが好きです。

This is a neutral statement that simply means "I like sushi." In Japanese, the
thing that is liked is marked as the subject. (If you've studied any Spanish,
this will seem familiar.) When I say "neutral," I mean that you're expressing
your like for sushi in a way that doesn't contrast with anything else. What
kind of Japanese food do you like? I like sushi.

> すしは好きです。

This statement feels contrastive. In English, imagine it as "Well, I like
sushi, [but...]" with a lengthening of the last syllable of "sushi." On its
own, it would sound very odd as a response to "What Japanese food do you
like?" But it would feel at home in a statement like:

> すしは好きですが、さしみはちょっと...

In general, if you're not using this type of construction in a contrastive
way, choose が. This also goes for がきらい、が上手、が下手、and others.




This is a big question, because it can't be answered fully without going deep
into the semantics of は and が, and I linked in the comment to an excellent
post that does just that.

However, without context, here's what we can say.

> すしが好きです。

This is a neutral statement that simply means "I like sushi." In Japanese, the
thing that is liked is marked as the subject. (If you've studied any Spanish,
this will seem familiar.) When I say "neutral," I mean that you're expressing
your like for sushi in a way that doesn't contrast with anything else. What
kind of Japanese food do you like? I like sushi.

> すしは好きです。

This statement feels contrastive. In English, imagine it as "Well, I like
sushi, [but...]" with a lengthening of the last syllable of "sushi." On its
own, it would sound very odd as a response to "What Japanese food do you
like?" But it would feel at home in a statement like:

> すしは好きですが、さしみはちょっと...

In general, if you're not using this type of construction in a contrastive
way, choose が. This also goes for がきらい、が上手、が下手、and others.

