Мне нравится общение с другом.

the friend

Breakdown of Мне нравится общение с другом.

• я: I
• с: with
• нравиться: to like

Questions & Answers about Мне нравится общение с другом.

What does Мне нравится literally mean, and why don’t we say Я нравлюсь here?

Нравиться in Russian works “backwards” compared to English to like.

• Мне нравится X literally = X is pleasing to me.
• Grammatically:
  • мне = to me (dative case, the experiencer)
  • нравится = is pleasing
  • общение = the thing that pleases you (the subject)

So the sentence is literally: “The communication with a friend is pleasing to me.”

Я нравлюсь means “I am liked” (by someone), so it would be used when you are the one who is liked, not the one who likes something. For liking something yourself, Russian uses Мне нравится ….

Why is мне in the dative case?

The verb нравиться takes the dative case for the person who experiences the liking.

• кто? что? (nominative) — the thing that is liked
• кому? чему? (dative) — the person who likes it

So:

• Мне нравится общение. — Communication pleases me / I like communication.
• Тебе нравится музыка. — Music pleases you / You like music.
• Ему нравится фильм. — He likes the film.

Think of the pattern as:
[To whom? (dative)] + нравится + [what? (nominative)]