Learn Hardcore Russian: Мне нравится вид на парк из окна. - I like the view of the park from the window.

Мне нравится вид… literally means: “The view is pleasing to me.”
- вид (the view) is the grammatical subject.
- нравится is the 3rd person singular verb: is pleasing.
- мне (to me) is an indirect object in the dative case.

Using Я нравлюсь would mean “I am liked / I am pleasing (to someone)”, which is a completely different meaning. So to say “I like X” in Russian, you typically say “X нравится мне” (X is pleasing to me), not “Я нравлюсь X”.

What case is Мне, and why is it in that case?

Мне is the dative case of я (I).

Nominative: я – I
Dative: мне – to me / for me

The verb нравиться always takes the person who likes something in the dative. So:

Мне нравится вид – The view is pleasing to me.
Тебе нравится вид – The view is pleasing to you.
Ему нравится вид – The view is pleasing to him.

The dative here answers the question “кому?” – to whom?

Why is the verb нравится in the 3rd person singular?

The verb agrees with the subject, not with the person who likes something.

Subject: вид (the view) – masculine, singular.
Therefore: нравится (3rd person singular).

If the liked thing were plural, the verb would be plural:

Мне нравятся виды на парк. – I like the views of the park.
- виды is plural → нравятся (3rd person plural).

Which cases are used for вид, парк, and окна, and why?

вид – nominative singular (the subject of the sentence).
- Что (что именно) нравится? – вид.
парк – accusative singular after на in this expression.
- вид на что? – на парк.
окна – genitive singular after из.
- из чего? – из окна.

So the pattern is:

кому? – мне (dative)
что (нравится)? – вид (nominative)
на что? – на парк (accusative)
из чего? – из окна (genitive)

Why is it вид на парк instead of something like вид парка?

Both exist, but they mean slightly different things:

вид на парк – a view *of / over / onto the park*, what you see when you look in that direction.
- This is the standard way to talk about a visual view from somewhere:
  - вид на море – view of the sea
  - вид на город – view of the city
вид парка – the appearance/look of the park itself (its condition, how it looks as an object).
- For example:
  - Мне не нравится вид парка зимой. – I don’t like the way the park looks in winter.

In your sentence, you are talking about what you see from the window, so вид на парк is correct.

Why is it из окна and not с окна or от окна?

Prepositions in Russian are quite specific:

из
- genitive = from inside (out of)
- из окна – from (the inside of) the window / from the window (looking out)
- из дома – out of the house
с
- genitive = from the surface / from on top of
- с балкона – from the balcony
- с крыши – from the roof
- с горы – from the mountain
от
- genitive = from / away from (a starting point, origin, distance)
- от окна – from the window (as a point in space), e.g.
  - От окна до двери два метра.

For a typical “view from a window”, the idiomatic choice is из окна.

Can the word order be changed, for example to Мне нравится вид из окна на парк?

Yes. Both are grammatically correct:

Мне нравится вид на парк из окна.
Мне нравится вид из окна на парк.

The meaning is basically the same; it’s just a matter of emphasis and flow.

вид на парк из окна: emphasizes view of the park and then clarifies that it’s from the window.
вид из окна на парк: emphasizes view from the window, then clarifies that it’s of the park.

Russian word order is relatively flexible, especially with prepositional phrases like these. The given version is very natural and slightly more common, but the alternative is also fine.

Could I say Я люблю вид на парк из окна instead? What’s the difference from Мне нравится?

You can say Я люблю вид на парк из окна, and it will be understood.

Nuances:

Мне нравится…
- Neutral, common way to say you like something.
- Sounds a bit more spontaneous, about your current feeling: I (find that I) like this view.
Я люблю…
- Stronger or more habitual: I love / I’m fond of / I generally like.
- More about a stable preference or affection.

In everyday speech, Мне нравится вид на парк из окна is more typical for commenting on a view you see. Я люблю… might sound like you’re talking about your general taste or preference.

When should I use нравится vs нравятся?

It depends on the number (and gender) of the thing that is liked, not on the person.

Singular liked thing → нравится
- Мне нравится вид. – I like the view.
- Мне нравится музыка. – I like the music.
Plural liked things → нравятся
- Мне нравятся виды на парк. – I like the views of the park.
- Мне нравятся фильмы Тарковского. – I like Tarkovsky’s films.

The person who likes (мне, тебе, ему, нам…) does not affect the form of the verb; only the subject does.

What does the ending -ся in нравится do?

The -ся ending marks reflexive or middle voice verbs. It often changes the meaning compared to the non-reflexive form.

нравить (without -ся) is basically not used on its own in modern Russian.
нравиться with -ся means “to be pleasing, to be liked”.

So нравиться doesn’t mean “to like” actively, but rather “to be liked (by someone)”. That’s why the construction is:

кому? – мне (to me)
что? – вид (what is pleasing)

Literally: “The view pleases itself to me” → The view is pleasing to me.

How would this sentence look in the past and future?

The verb нравиться has both нравиться (ongoing/regular liking) and понравиться (to come to like / to start liking) forms.

Present (given sentence):
- Мне нравится вид на парк из окна. – I like the view of the park from the window.
Past (completed reaction, “I liked it”):
- Мне понравился вид на парк из окна.
  - вид is masculine singular → понравился (masc. sg.)
Past (ongoing/habitual liking):
- Мне нравился вид на парк из окна. – I used to like / I liked (over some period).
Future (ongoing):
- Мне будет нравиться вид на парк из окна. – I will like / will be liking the view.
Future (moment you’ll start liking it):
- Мне понравится вид на парк из окна. – I will like the view (when I see it).

In everyday speech, понравился / понравится is very common for “I liked / I will like (once I see it)”.

Do Russians often say this exact full sentence, or is there a shorter, more natural version?

The full sentence is perfectly natural, especially in writing or careful speech. In casual conversation, Russians might shorten or slightly change it depending on context:

Мне нравится вид из окна. – if it’s already clear that the window looks onto the park.
Какой классный вид на парк! – What a great view of the park!
Отсюда такой красивый вид на парк. – From here there’s such a beautiful view of the park.

Your version Мне нравится вид на парк из окна. is good, correct Russian and sounds natural when you want to be explicit about both “park” and “from the window”.