How to answer negative questions

edited September 2012 in Japanese
Let's say you don't like sushi. Then if somebody asks you in English, "Don't you like sushi?", you'd answer, "No, I don't."

In Japanese, the way you answer this question will be different. You'd have to say, 「はい、好きではありません。」(Hai, suki de wa arimasen.) - "Yes, I don't like it."

In contrast, if you do like sushi, then the answer to the same question will be, 「
いいえ、好きです。」(Iie, suki desu.) - "No, I like it."

So, when you respond to a negative question, you first say
はい (hai) to mean, "Yes, what you said was correct"; you say いいえ (iie) to mean, "No, what you said was not correct". After that, just state the fact - if answering the question above, either 好きです (suki desu) or 好きではありません (suki de wa arimasen).
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