Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha osyarena kamigata ga suki desu.

は marks the topic: what we’re talking about.
- 私
  - は = As for me / Speaking about me
が marks the thing that is liked with 好き.
- 髪型
  - が = hairstyles (are the thing that) I like

Literally, the structure is:

私は = As for me,
おしゃれな髪型が = stylish hairstyles (are what)
好きです = are liked.

So it’s like: “As for me, stylish hairstyles are liked.”
That’s why both は (topic) and が (subject of 好き) coexist naturally in this sentence.

Why is it 髪型が好き and not 髪型を好き?

Because 好き is not a verb in Japanese; it’s a な-adjective (adjectival word).
Grammatically, 好き means “liked” / “fond” rather than “to like.”

With verbs, the thing you act on usually takes を:
- 音楽を聴く = to listen to music
With 好き, the thing you like takes が, because it’s the subject of the adjective:
- 音楽が好きです = Music is liked (by me) → I like music
- おしゃれな髪型が好きです = Stylish hairstyles are liked (by me)

So を would be wrong here because there is no action verb taking a direct object. 好き behaves like “is liked”, and が is normal for the subject of an adjective.

Is 好き a verb meaning “to like”?

Conceptually, you can think of 好き as “to like” to understand the meaning, but grammatically it is a な-adjective, not a verb.

Dictionary form: 好き（な） (as an adjective)
Typical pattern:
- X が好きです = I like X. (Literally: X is liked / X is pleasing.)

Important points:

You don’t say 好きする or 好きます. There’s no verb conjugation like that.
To make it past tense, you change です, not 好き:
- X が好きでした = I liked X.
To modify a noun, use 好きな:
- 好きな髪型 = a hairstyle (that I) like

So: it acts like “to like” at the level of meaning, but behaves like an adjective in terms of grammar.

What exactly does おしゃれな mean, and why is there a な after it?

おしゃれ（な） usually means “stylish, fashionable, well-dressed, trendy.”

Grammatically:

おしゃれ can function as a な-adjective (and also as a noun in some contexts).
When a な-adjective comes directly before a noun, you insert な:
- おしゃれな髪型 = stylish hairstyle
- 静かな町 = quiet town
- 有名な人 = famous person

So here:

おしゃれな modifies 髪型.
You cannot say おしゃれ髪型; you need the な.

Nuance: おしゃれ is often about good taste in appearance — clothes, hair, overall look. It’s casual and positive.

What is the nuance difference between 髪 and 髪型? Why 髪型 here?

髪（かみ） = hair (the actual hair itself)
髪型（かみがた） = hairstyle, hairdo, haircut style

Saying:

おしゃれな髪が好きです would sound like “I like stylish hair” (a bit odd / vague).
おしゃれな髪型が好きです clearly means “I like stylish hairstyles (haircuts).”

In Japanese, to talk about styles or ways something is arranged, 〜型 (かた・がた) is common:

体型 = body type
顔型 = face shape
髪型 = hairstyle shape / style

So 髪型 is the natural choice here.

Can I drop 私 and just say おしゃれな髪型が好きです?

Yes, absolutely. In normal conversation, this is very common and often sounds more natural.

Japanese often drops the topic when it’s obvious from context. So:

おしゃれな髪型が好きです。
→ I like stylish hairstyles. (subject “I” is understood)

You generally only need 私は when:

You want to contrast yourself with others:
- みんなは短い髪が好きですが、私は長い髪型が好きです。
  Everyone likes short hair, but I like long hairstyles.
You’re introducing yourself or making the topic clear at the start of a conversation.

Otherwise, omitting 私 is perfectly fine.

Can I change the word order, like おしゃれな髪型が好きです、私は?

You can move elements around in Japanese more than in English, but not all orders sound natural in everyday speech.

Natural patterns here:

私はおしゃれな髪型が好きです。
おしゃれな髪型が好きです。 (topic “I” omitted)

Putting 私は at the end:

おしゃれな髪型が好きです、私は。

This might appear in writing or for emphasis, like:

As for me, it’s stylish hairstyles that I like.

It can sound a bit dramatic or “contrastive,” used to highlight 私 against some implied others. It’s not wrong, but for normal, neutral speech, stick with:

私はおしゃれな髪型が好きです。 or
おしゃれな髪型が好きです。

What’s the difference between 好きです and 好きだ?

Both use the same adjective 好き, but the copula (the “be” part) is different:

好きです → polite (です-form)
好きだ → plain / casual (だ-form)

Use:

好きです:
- With people you don’t know well
- In formal or neutral situations
- In writing (polite emails, beginner textbooks, etc.)
好きだ:
- With close friends, family
- In casual speech
- In informal writing (diary, manga dialogue, etc.)

So a casual version of the whole sentence could be:

おしゃれな髪型が好きだ。
Or even more casual: おしゃれな髪型、好き。 (dropping both topic and だ)

What’s the difference between 髪型が好きです and 髪型は好きです?

The particle change (が vs は) slightly shifts the nuance.

髪型が好きです。
- Neutral statement: I like hairstyles (here, stylish hairstyles).
- が marks what is liked with 好き.
- Fits well as a simple answer:
  - Q: 何が好きですか。 (What do you like?)
  - A: おしゃれな髪型が好きです。
髪型は好きです。
- は often adds a sense of contrast or limitation:
  - “As for hairstyles, (I) like them.”
- It may imply:
  - maybe I don’t like some other related things
    - e.g., 髪型は好きですが、カラーは嫌いです。
      I like the hairstyle, but I don’t like the color.

In your original sentence:

私はおしゃれな髪型が好きです。 is the most natural default.
私はおしゃれな髪型は好きです。 would sound more like you’re setting up a contrast with something else.

Why is there です at the end? What changes if I remove it?

です is the polite copula (similar to “is / am / are” in English) used to make the sentence polite.

好きです = is liked / am fond of (polite)
好きだ = is liked / am fond of (plain)
好き (on its own, in speech) can be very casual or sound like a fragment.

Compare:

おしゃれな髪型が好きです。
→ Polite: I like stylish hairstyles.
おしゃれな髪型が好きだ。
→ Plain/casual: I like stylish hairstyles.
おしゃれな髪型が好き。
→ Very casual, often used in conversation, especially by women and in relaxed speech.

As a learner, 好きです is the safest default in most situations.

Is おしゃれ casual? Are there more formal or different words I could use?

おしゃれ is everyday, casual, positive language. It’s very common in speech among all ages.

Some related words (not always direct replacements):

かっこいい = cool, good-looking (often for men/styles/things)
スタイリッシュな = stylish (katakana, a bit more “fashion-magazine” feel)
洗練された = sophisticated, refined (more formal/literary)
上品な = elegant, classy
センスのいい = with good taste

For a slightly different nuance:

センスのいい髪型が好きです。
I like hairstyles with good taste.
洗練された髪型が好きです。
I like sophisticated hairstyles.

But for everyday “stylish, fashionable,” おしゃれな髪型が好きです is perfectly natural and common.

How would this sentence change if I wanted to say “I love stylish hairstyles,” not just “like”?

You can use 大好き（だいすき）, which literally means “big like” and is closer to “love / really like / adore.”

Patterns:

X が大好きです。 = I really like / love X.

So:

私はおしゃれな髪型が大好きです。
→ I love stylish hairstyles.
Often you can drop 私は:
- おしゃれな髪型が大好きです。

The grammar stays the same: 大好き is also a な-adjective, so the が pattern remains.