Мне нравится запах свежего хлеба на кухне.

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Breakdown of Мне нравится запах свежего хлеба на кухне.

• свежий: fresh
• на: in
• хлеб: the bread

Questions & Answers about Мне нравится запах свежего хлеба на кухне.

Why is it мне нравится and not я нравлюсь?

Because нравиться works differently from English to like.

In Russian, the idea is closer to something is pleasing to someone.

So in this sentence:

• мне = to me
• нравится = is pleasing / is liked
• запах свежего хлеба = the smell of fresh bread

So literally, the sentence is something like:

To me is pleasing the smell of fresh bread in the kitchen.

That is why the person who experiences the liking is in the dative case: мне.

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Why is мне in that form?

Мне is the dative case form of я.

Here are the forms:

• я = I
• меня = me
• мне = to me

With нравиться, Russian uses the person in the dative:

• мне нравится = I like
• тебе нравится = you like
• ему нравится = he likes
• нам нравится = we like

So мне is used because the structure is to me, it is pleasing.

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