I'm very confused, I thought that all these forms had the same meaning, but I read somewhere they are not exactly the same, since the nuances differ. However I didn't get it in which situations they can be used. Can anyone tell me the difference between these 3 forms and some example sentences?
1 Answer
There is a huge difference in meaning between 「楽{たの}しいです」 and the other two phrases, but there is basically no difference in meaning or nuance between the other two, 「楽しみにする」 and 「楽しみにしている」.
「楽しいです」 simply means "(something) is fun or enjoyable".
「このゲームはとても楽しいです。」 = "This game is fun/enjoyable."
「クリスマスは楽しいです。」 = "Christmas is fun."
「楽しみにする」 and 「楽しみにしている」 have to do with "to look forward to".
See the clear difference between these and 「楽しいです」?
The difference between 「楽しみにする」 and 「楽しみにしている」 is only in the tenses. The former is the dictionary form and the latter, the present progressive. In real life, the latter is used far more often than the former. That is because to say "I look forward to ~~", we use 「楽しみにしている」 rather than 「楽しみにする」.
The fact that you do say "I look forward to ~~" in English using the present tense "look" is irrelevant as that is a phenomenon in another language. Here, how things are said naturally in Japanese is what matters.
「スミスさんの来日{らいにち}を楽しみにしています。」 = "I look/am looking forward to Mr. Smith's visit to Japan."
「またお会{あ}いできることを楽しみにしています。」 = "I look/am looking forward to seeing you again."