恶心
The English word 'gross' (causing disgust) can be translated into Chinese as 恶心. Wiktionary also lists 討厭 / 讨厌 (tǎoyàn).
Meaning: causing disgust (adj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 恶心 | |
| 討厭 / 讨厌 | tǎoyàn |
While 恶心 can mean 'disgusting' in a physical sense, it is very commonly used colloquially to describe someone's behavior or a situation that is morally or socially repulsive.
Which one should you use?
While 恶心 refers to something that causes physical or visceral disgust, 讨厌 is used for things that are merely annoying, unpleasant or disliked.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To add emphasis like 'so gross' or 'really gross', you can add 真 (zhēn) before 恶心. When using 恶心 as an adjective to modify a noun, you must add the particle 的 (de), such as 恶心的感觉 (a gross feeling).
Did you know?
- The word 恶心 (ěxin) literally translates to 'nauseating the heart'. In Chinese culture, the 'heart' is often seen as the center of both physical sensation and emotion, making the word feel more visceral than the English 'gross'.
- When using 讨厌 (tǎoyàn) to describe a person, it can sometimes sound 'cute' or 'playful' depending on the tone, similar to how a child might say 'I don't like you' while smiling.
- In certain contexts, 恶心 can describe a 'gross' feeling of being cheated or played, referring to a psychological state of resentment rather than physical filth.
Examples in context
- 真恶心！So gross!This sentence is useful for expressing 'So gross!' using 恶心.Tatoeba #9989934 by GlossaMatik, translation #10251045 by bekindtoall
- 这种行为令人厌恶。This behavior is disgusting.
- 这个东西味道太恶心了！This thing tastes too gross!
- 你看到那只蟑螂了吗? 好恶心！Did you see that cockroach? So gross!
- 这坏了的食物有点儿恶心。This spoiled food is a little gross.
- 那里的味道很恶心。Nàlǐ de wèidào hěn ěxin.The smell there is gross.
- 这种感觉真让人恶心。Zhè zhǒng gǎnjué zhēn ràng rén ěxin.This feeling is truly gross.
Example conversation
A man and a woman are looking at a dirty street.
- 雨婷 Yuting你看那个垃圾堆，真恶心。Nǐ kàn nàge lājī duī, zhēn ěxin.Look at that pile of trash, it's so gross.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，别看了。Yǔtíng, bié kàn le.Yuting, stop looking.
- 雨婷 Yuting环境这么差，真恶心。Huánjìng zhème chà, zhēn ěxin.The environment is so bad, it's disgusting.
- 浩然 Haoran我们快走吧。Wǒmen kuài zǒu ba.Let's get out of here quickly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gross” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
