Expressing Likes and Dislikes (A1)

Two common ways to talk about what you like or dislike:

1. houden van (to love / to like very much)

• Used for strong feelings about people, things, or activities.
• It's a separable verb, but in simple present tense like this, it often appears with van directly after it.
• Structure: Subject + houden + van + [Object/Activity]
• Examples:
• Ik hou van jou. (I love you.)
• Zij houdt van kaas. (She loves cheese.)
• Wij houden van zwemmen. (We love swimming.) - Note: activity uses the infinitive verb form.
• Houd je van koffie? (Do you like coffee?)

2. ... leuk vinden (to like / to find nice/fun)

• Used for general likes, finding something pleasant or enjoyable.
• leuk is an adjective meaning "nice" or "fun".
• vinden means "to find" (in the sense of having an opinion).
• Structure: Subject + vinden + [Object] + leuk. (The object comes between vinden and leuk)
• Examples:
• Ik vind dit boek leuk. (I like this book / I find this book nice.)
• Hij vindt fietsen leuk. (He likes cycling / He finds cycling fun.) - Activity uses infinitive.
• Vind je deze muziek leuk? (Do you like this music?)

Dislikes:

• You can negate these using niet.
• Ik hou niet van spruitjes. (I don't like Brussels sprouts.)
• Ik vind dit weer niet leuk. (I don't like this weather.)

Key Difference: houden van is generally stronger than leuk vinden.