Likes, dislikes, strengths — Talking about yourself deeper

Four small patterns unlock a lot of personal talk:

• ·〜が好きです — I like ... (sushi, snowboarding, movies ...)
• ·〜がきらいです — I dislike ... (strong; most speakers soften to 苦手 for food/people)
• ·〜が得意です — I'm good at ... (skill)
• ·〜が苦手です — I'm not good at ... (softer than きらい)

Key: the subject particle is が, not を. 寿司が好きです is correct; 寿司を好きです is wrong — because 好き is actually an adjective, not a verb.

Comparing two things:

• ·〜より、〜のほうが好きです。 — I like B more than A.
• ·スキーより、スノーボードのほうが好きです。 — I like snowboarding more than skiing.

Softening dislikes: direct きらい sounds harsh. For food, people, or weather, use 苦手 instead:

• ·わさびは、苦手です。 — Wasabi isn't my thing. (polite, warm)

The は after わさび is the "contrast particle" — it signals "I like sushi, but when it comes to wasabi specifically..." It softens the dislike by implying you like other things in the category.