ネイティブでも間違うfeel like と feel like -ingの意味の違い？！

How’s it going guys? It’s Min here!

The most common question to ask when going out for dinner with a friend is asking them what they would like to eat. This may sound like an easy task but recently I have struggled getting the message across.

So a few days ago, I was texting a friend.

Friend: “I heard there’s this new cafe that opened up nearby.”

Me: “Oh, what do they serve?”

Friend: “You know, the usual. Burgers, parma, steak.”

Me: “Hmm but I feel like dumplings.”

Friend: “What!? How can you feel like dumplings? You’re not that fat.”

Me: “Huh?”

By the way, “dumpling” can also be used to describe someone who is short and fat.

So that’s when I started to break my sentence down.

“I feel like dumplings.”

I guess what I was trying to say was “I feel like having/eating dumplings”. However, it did not really occur to me that what I said was being misinterpreted by my non-Australian friend.

So my friend thought I meant:

“I feel like dumplings.” (私は餃子になった気がする。)

But what I meant was:

“I feel like (having/eating) dumplings.” (私は餃子（が食べたい）気分。)

It is more natural in Australia (and possibly other English speaking countries) to leave out “having/eating” because it is quicker and easier to say.

So next time when someone asks you out for a meal, you can try asking them “what do you feel like having?” and see what the response is!

Min

Hi, I am Min and I live in Melbourne, Australia.

I am a freelance translator and during my time off, I like to run, swim and do crafts.