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JLPT N113画 · 13 strokesradical 女freq #1207

dislike, detest, hate

On'yomi (音読み)

  • ケン
  • ゲン

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • きら.う
  • きら.い
  • いや

Mnemonic

Seeing a woman (女) frowning in dislike makes it clear she can't stand the smell of the rotten fish nearby, her face twisted in detest.

About this kanji

The kanji 嫌, pronounced as "きらう" in its kun'yomi, means to dislike or hate. It can describe strong feelings of aversion to something or someone. This kanji is often used in verbs and nouns, with the noun form 嫌い, meaning "dislike" or "something you don't like." Another common compound is 嫌悪 (けんお), which means "disgust." Additionally, 機嫌 (きげん) refers to one's mood or humor and is an important aspect of emotional expression in Japanese. A key point to remember is that while 嫌 can express dislike, it can be more intense than simply being indifferent.

Example sentences

  • 彼は彼女が嫌いです。

    He dislikes her.

Meanings across languages

English
dislike, detest, hate
Tiếng Việt
không thích
日本語
嫌い
한국어
싫어하다
中文
厌恶
id
kebencian, benci
th
ความเกลียดชัง
es
desagrado, odio
fr
dégoût, haine
de
Abneigung, Hass
pt
desgosto, ódio

Common compounds

  • 嫌いきらいdisliked, hated, disagreeable
  • 機嫌きげんhumour, humor, temper
  • 嫌うきらうto hate, to dislike, to loathe
  • 嫌悪けんおdisgust, hate, repugnance
  • 嫌疑けんぎsuspicion
  • 嫌気いやきdislike, disgust, disinclination
  • 上機嫌じょうきげんgood humour (humor), good mood
  • 大嫌いだいきらいhating, strongly disliking

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