Like- Suki (Learning Japanese with Dogs)

Today's word is suki. It's pronounced as "ski".

According to JED (Android's Japanese-English Dictionary), the term suki means fondness, love, or liking. So, if you've come across a few Japanese drama or anime  series, when a person is in-love with another, he/she says "Daisuki desu" (silent u) or "Suki desu" (again, with a silent u). The term love is barely used.

 マンゴ が すき です。 - Mango ga suki desu.- I like mango. More correctly put, I like mangoes.

Unlike the English language, suki is used as noun rather than a verb. So, when they say Inu ga suki desu (いぬ が すき です), it roughly translates to "I like a dog." or "I like dogs." It can also mean "I love dogs!"

Breakdown of Definitions:

Inu (いぬ) -dog

ga (が)- particle used to denote ability or preference.

suki (すき)- like

desu (です)- is/are/be/am; polite filler

So, to create a sentence where you want to express liking/ loving something, just pick a word and add "ga suki desu" after it.

Example:

バナナ が すき です。- Banana ga suki desu. I like banana(s).

チョウィ-ちゃん が すき です。-Chooey-chan ga suki desu. I like/love Chooey. 

Note: The suffix -chan or -san is added after a name just like Mr. and Ms. is added before a name in the English language. However, chan is added after a child's name while san is added to an adult's name.