One of the first things you might want to express in Spanish is your preferences – what you like and dislike. This guide will help you understand how to say ‘I like’ in Spanish, what me gusta means and how to talk about your likes and dislikes in Spanish.

In the audio episode, we expand this topic a bit further, so don’t forget to listen to it. In addition, it’ll help you to get to know how to pronounce the phrases!

Basic structures for likes and dislikes in Spanish

The phrase me gusta is fundamental when learning Spanish. It translates to ‘I like’ in English. The structure might seem a bit different from English, but it’s quite straightforward once you get the hang of it.

The following phrases are the most basic structure that you can use when starting to talk about your likes and dislikes in Spanish:

• Me gusta… I like…
• Me gusta mucho… I like a lot…
• No me gusta… I don’t like…
• No me gusta nada…  don’t like at all…

Here are some examples to help you understand better:

• Me gusta la literatura. I like literature.
• Me gusta mucho el español. I like Spanish a lot.
• No me gusta el deporte. I don’t like sports.
• No me gusta nada la fruta. I don’t like fruit at all.

How to say ‘I like’ in Spanish?

To say ‘I like’ in Spanish, you use me gusta followed by a singular noun or an infinitive verb. This simple phrase is powerful and will allow you to express a wide range of likes and dislikes in Spanish.

Examples of me gusta + singular noun

When you want to say you like something, you use me gusta followed by the article el or la and the noun.

• Me gusta el cine. I like the cinema/movies.
• No me gusta la fotografía. I like photography.
• Me gusta mucho la música. I like music a lot.
• No me gusta nada el baloncesto. I don’t like basketball at all.

Examples of “me gusta” + verb

When you want to say you like doing something, you use me gusta followed by the infinitive form of the verb:

• Me gusta leer. I like to read.
• No me gusta cantar. I like to sing.
• Me gusta mucho aprender. I like to learn a lot.
• No me gusta nada salir. I don’t like to go out at all.

Talking about your preferences

Once you are comfortable with me gusta, you can start asking others about their preferences using ¿Te gusta…? which means Do you like…?.

For example:

• ¿Te gusta el cine? Do you like the cinema?
• ¿Te gusta leer? Do you like to read?

These questions are great conversation starters and can help you practice speaking and understanding Spanish.

Expanding your vocabulary

As you continue to learn Spanish, you’ll find it useful to expand your vocabulary related to likes and dislikes. Here are some more examples to practice:

• Me gusta la música. I like music.
• No me gusta la comida picante. I don’t like spicy food.
• Me gusta viajar. I like to travel.
• No me gusta el frío. I don’t like the cold.

Combining likes and dislikes in Spanish

You can combine multiple likes and dislikes in Spanish to give more information about your preferences:

Me gusta leer y aprender, pero no me gusta mucho salir. I like to read and learn, but I don’t like to go out much.

That’s all for this blog article!

Understanding how to express likes and dislikes in Spanish is a fundamental part of learning the language. By mastering me gusta and no me gusta, you can start to share your interests and preferences with others. Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep using these phrases in your conversations.

With these tools, you can confidently talk about what you like and dislike in Spanish. 

In the next episode, we review everything we’ve learned in Spanish so far, so don’t miss it out! In the blog article, we’ve prepared a dialogue that contains everything covered so far, so it’s a great episode to show to yourself how much you’ve learnt!

Hasta la próxima and happy Coffee Breaking!