I have written this blog post for all the anime lovers out there that want to know how to say phrases like “I like anime” or “I like watching anime” in Japanese. Of course, we will also cover the important question for a new Japanese friend “Do you like anime?“. So let’s start with the easiest way to say “I like anime” in Japanese.
“Anime ga suki desu” (アニメが好きです) is the basic formal phrase to say “I like anime” in Japanese. When talking to friends the more casual phrases “Anime suki” (アニメ好き) or “Anime suki da” (アニメ好きだ) are more common. To say “I like watching anime” you can use “Anime o miru no ga suki desu” (アニメを見るのが好きです).
Below I will explain in detail the difference between the formal textbook phrases and the more natural casual phrases and show you a few other ways of how to say “I like anime” in Japanese. After that, we will cover a lot of other essential phrases that will come in handy when you want to talk about how much you like anime in Japanese.
- I like anime
- I like watching anime / I like to watch anime
- Do you like anime?
- I’m watching anime (right now)
- I want to watch anime
- I like reading manga and watching anime
How to Say “I Like Anime” in Japanese
The Japanese word for “anime” is アニメ (anime) and the Japanese word for “to like” is 好き (suki). Since it is common to omit the subject “I” (私, watashi) as well as any unnecessary particles in casual speech all you have to say is “Anime suki” (アニメ好き) in order to express “I like anime” in Japanese. However, if you want you can add the particle ga (が).
Anime suki.
アニメ好き。
I like anime.Anime ga suki.
アニメが好き。
I like anime.Watashi wa anime ga suki.
私はアニメが好き。
I like anime (correct but not very natural)
To make your Japanese sentence sound more polite you can add the word desu (です) at the end. If, on the other hand, you want to add more emphasis to what you are saying you can add the casual version of the Japanese copula “desu”, which is da (だ). This is like adding an exclamation mark to your sentence: “I like anime!“.
Anime suki desu.
アニメ好きです。
I like anime (polite)Anime ga suki desu.
アニメが好きです。
I like anime (polite)Watashi wa anime ga suki desu.
私はアニメが好きです。
I like anime (polite and correct but unnatural)
If you are really into anime you can add another word, the sentence ending particle yo (よ) after da (だ). Da yo (だよ) adds even more emphasis and can either be translated as “I like anime!!!“, “I really like anime“, or even “I love anime“.
Anime suki da yo.
アニメ好きだよ。
I (really) like anime!!!Anime ga suki da yo.
アニメが好きだよ。
I (really) like anime!!!
To say “I love anime” in Japanese you can also use the word daisuki (大好き) instead of suki (好き). So “Anime daisuki” (アニメ大好き), “Anime ga daisuki” (アニメが大好き), “Anime daisuki dayo” (アニメ大好きだよ) all mean “I love anime“. Here is one of my blog posts if you want to know more about the difference between suki vs daisuki explained on the example of how to say “I like you” in Japanese.
“I Like Watching/to Watch Anime” in Japanese
“Anime o miru no ga suki desu” (アニメを見るのが好きです) and “Anime o miru koto ga suki desu” (アニメを見ることが好きです) are the Japanese phrases you can use to say “I like to watch anime” or “I like watching anime“. When talking to your friends, you can omit the word “desu” at the end or use the word da (だ) instead.
Polite phrases to say “I like watching/to watch anime” in Japanese
Anime o miru no ga suki desu.
アニメを見るのが好きです。
I like to watch anime.Anime o miru koto ga suki desu.
アニメを見ることが好きです。
I like watching anime.
Casual phrases to say “I like watching/to watch anime” in Japanese
Anime o miru no ga suki.
アニメを見るのが好き。
I like to watch anime.Anime o miru no ga suki da.
アニメを見るのが好きだ。
I like to watch anime!Anime o miru koto ga suki.
アニメを見ることが好き。
I like watching anime.Anime o miru koto ga suki da.
アニメを見ることが好きだ。
I like watching anime!
Same as before it is not wrong to add “Watashi wa” (私は) at the beginning of the sentence. However, you sound more natural and more Japanese when you omit the subject “I”.
“Do You Like Anime?” in Japanese
“Anime ga suki desu ka?” (アニメが好きですか。) is the formal way to ask someone in Japanese “Do you like anime?“. In an informal situation, you can just say “Anime suki?” (アニメ好き？) or “Anime ga suki?” (アニメが好き？) with a rising intonation at the end in order to turn the sentence into a casual question.
Polite ways to ask “Do you like anime?” in Japanese
Anime ga suki desu ka?
アニメが好きですか。
Do you like anime?
Anime suki desu ka?
アニメ好きですか？
Do you like anime? (more natural)
Casual ways to ask “Do you like anime?” in Japanese
Anime suki?
アニメ好き？
Do you like anime?Anime ga suki?
アニメが好き？
Do you like anime?
In textbooks, you will probably find the phrase “Anata wa anime ga suki desu ka?” (あなたはアニメが好きですか｡). However, it is better to omit “anata” (あなた, you) since it could be considered rude. Furthermore, just like with “watashi” (私, I) it is common to omit the subject when it is clear.
“I’m Watching Anime” in Japanese
“Anime o miteimasu” (アニメを見ています) is the polite way to say “I’m watching anime (now)“. The casual phrase with the same meaning would be “Anime o miteiru” (アニメを見ている) or “Anime or miteru” (アニメを見てる). You can also add “Ima” (今) at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize you are watching “right now“.
Polite ways to say “I’m watching anime (right now)” in Japanese
Anime o miteimasu.
アニメを見ています。
I’m watching anime.Ima anime wo miteimasu.
今アニメを見ています。
I’m watching anime right now.
Casual ways to say “I’m watching anime (right now)” in Japanese. Please note that the particle o (を) can be used or omitted in all of the example sentences below.
Anime o miteiru.
アニメを見ている。
I’m watching anime.Anime miteru.
アニメ見てる。
I’m watching anime.Ima anime miteiru.
今アニメを見ている。
I’m watching anime right now.Ima anime o miteru.
今アニメを見てる。
I’m watching anime right now.
“teiru” (〜ている) and “teimasu” (〜ています) are the Japanese grammar forms for the English present continuous tense “am/is/are …ing“, but since Japanese tend to abbreviate everything they can you will also frequently encounter the shorter “teru” (〜てる) and “temasu” (〜てます).
“I Want to Watch Anime” in Japanese
“Anime o mitai desu” (アニメを見たいです) is the formal way to say “I want to watch anime” in Japanese. When talking to friends or family members the more casual “Anime o mitai” (アニメを見たい) or “Anime mitai” (アニメ見たい) is more natural. To add more emphasis you can add the particle na (な) or yo (よ) at the end.
Polite ways to say “I want to watch anime” in Japanese
Anime o mitai desu.
アニメを見たいです。
I want to watch anime.Anime mitai desu.
アニメを見たいです。
I want to watch anime.
Informal ways to say “I want to watch anime” in Japanese
Anime mitai.
アニメ見たい。Anime o mitai.
アニメを見たい。Anime mitai na.
アニメ見たいな。
I want to watch anime! (a bit feminine)Anime mitai yo.
アニメ見たいよ。
I want to watch anime! (pretty strong and masculine)
You can also add words like today (今日, kyou), tomorrow (明日, ashita), or tonight (今夜, konya) at the beginning of the sentence to say “Today/tomorrow/tonight I want to watch anime“. Here’s an example “Kyou anime mitai” (今日アニメ見たい) which translates as “Today I want to watch anime“.
“I Like Reading Manga and Watching Anime” in Japanese
If you are into manga and anime you can say “Manga o yomu koto to, anime o miru koto ga suki desu” (マンガを読むことと、アニメを見ることが好きです) in Japanese which translates as “I like reading manga and watching anime“. The sentence “Manga o yondari, anime o miru no ga suki” (マンガを読んだりアニメを見るのがすき) sounds more casual.
Manga o yomu koto to, anime o miru koto ga suki desu.
マンガを読むことと、アニメを見ることが好きです。
I like reading manga and watching anime (formal)Manga o yondari, anime o miru no ga suki.
マンガを読んだり、アニメを見るのが好き。
I like reading manga and watching anime (casual)
Now that you know how to say “I like anime” why don’t you also check out how to say “I love anime”? I cover the phrase in my other blog post: “The Meaning of “Daisuki” – Say “I Love (You)” in Japanese“.