Breakdown of huyu ha samui keredo, yuki ga suki desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
寒いsamui
cold
がga
subject particle
好きsuki
like
冬huyu
winter
雪yuki
snow
けれどkeredo
but
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Questions & Answers about huyu ha samui keredo, yuki ga suki desu.
What function does は serve in 冬は寒い?
は is the topic marker. It takes 冬 (“winter”) and makes it the topic of the sentence—“As for winter, (it) is cold.” It’s not the subject marker (が); it highlights what you’re talking about or contrasting.
Who is doing the liking in 雪が好きです, and why is 雪 marked with が?
The one doing the liking is the speaker—“I like snow.” In Japanese this “I” is often omitted when it’s clear from context. When you use 好き (“to like”), you mark the thing you like with が, so 雪が好きです literally means “Snow is liked (by me).” If you wanted to state the topic explicitly you could say 私は雪が好きです, but dropping 私は is normal.
What is けれど, and can you use けど or しかし instead?
けれど is a conjunction meaning “but” or “although,” used to link two clauses.
- けど is the more casual, contracted form.
- けれども is slightly more formal/emphatic.
- しかし is a formal “however” used at the start of a sentence rather than joining clauses directly.
Examples:
• 冬は寒いけど、雪が好きです。 (casual)
• 冬は寒いけれども、雪が好きです。 (polite)
• 冬は寒いです。しかし、雪が好きです。 (very formal)
Why is 寒い used without です, and is it okay to mix plain and polite forms in one sentence?
Before a conjunction like けれど, i-adjectives appear in their plain (dictionary) form—so it’s 寒いけれど rather than 寒いですけれど. Japanese often uses the plain form in subordinate clauses and then switches to the polite form (～です／～ます) in the main clause. That mix (plain + polite) is completely natural. If you want to be uniformly polite, you could say 冬は寒いですけれど、雪が好きです.
Why does 好き require です, and is 好き an adjective?
好き is a な-adjective (sometimes treated as a noun that behaves like an adjective). Unlike i-adjectives, it doesn’t end in い, so it needs the copula です (polite) or だ (casual) to form the predicate. For example:
• 雪が好きです。 (I like snow.)
When modifying another noun, you add な:
• 好きな食べ物 (favorite food)
Why is there no explicit subject like 私は in this sentence?
Japanese frequently omits subjects when they can be inferred from context. In the first clause, 冬は寒い, the implied “it” is winter (marked by は). In the second clause, 雪が好きです, the implied subject is the speaker (“I”). If clarity is needed, you can always add 私は: 冬は寒いけれど、私は雪が好きです, but in everyday usage it’s more natural to leave it out.