páčiť sa + Dative

Liking with Páčiť Sa

Level 2

Páči sa mi Bratislava. (I like Bratislava; literally, Bratislava pleases me.) For more than one thing: Páčia sa mi tie topánky.

How It Works

The pattern

  • thing liked: nominative, the subject
  • person who likes it: dative

Páči sa mi tvoje auto. (I like your car.) Mame sa ten obraz nepáči. (Mom doesn't like that painting.)

Forms to know

  • one thing: páči sa mi
  • several things: páčia sa mi
  • negative: nepáči sa mi
  • past: páčil sa mi (masculine), páčila sa mi (feminine), páčilo sa mi (neuter), páčili sa mi (plural)

Word order. sa comes before the dative pronoun: páči sa mi, never páči mi sa. For emphasis, start with the long form: Mne sa to páči.

Useful questions. Páči sa ti tu? (Do you like it here?) Ako sa ti páči na Slovensku? (How do you like it in Slovakia?)

páčiť sa or mať rád? Páčiť sa often describes an impression, such as how something looks or a first experience. Mať rád describes a lasting liking or love (see Liking With mať rád): Páčiš sa mi (I like you, I find you attractive) versus Mám ťa rád (I'm fond of you, I love you). For activities, use Liking to Do Something: Rád varím. (I like cooking.)

The fixed phrase Here You Are comes from the same verb.

Examples (6)

  1. Páči sa mi Bratislava.

    I like Bratislava.

    Word by Word: Pleases itself to-me Bratislava.

  2. Páčia sa ti tie topánky?

    Do you like those shoes?

    topánky is plural, so the verb is páčia.

  3. Mame sa ten obraz nepáči.

    Mom doesn't like that painting.

    mame is the dative of mama.

  4. Páčil sa vám ten film?

    Did you like the film?

    Past tense páčil agrees with film, which is masculine.

  5. Ako sa ti páči na Slovensku?

    How do you like it in Slovakia?

  6. Páčiš sa mi.

    I like you. (I find you attractive.)

    Here you are the subject, so the verb is in the ty form.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the person the subject, as in English.

    Ja sa páčim Bratislavu.
    Páči sa mi Bratislava.

    The thing you like is the subject in the nominative, and you are in the dative (mi). Páčim sa means that I please someone, not that I like something.

  • Keeping the verb singular with a plural subject.

    Páči sa mi tie topánky.
    Páčia sa mi tie topánky.

    The verb agrees with the thing liked. Topánky is plural, so use páčia.

  • Putting mi before sa.

    Páči mi sa to.
    Páči sa mi to.

    In the group of short words, sa always comes before the dative pronoun.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

páčiť sa + DativeLevel 2Liking with Páčiť Sa

Learn This First

Before Liking With páčiť sa, learn Dative Pronouns. With páčiť sa the person who likes is in the dative.

Words in This Pattern

páčiť sa