嫌い
kirai[kʲiɾa̠i]
In Japanese, the phrase for saying you dislike something is 嫌い (kirai).
嫌い is used to express a strong emotional dislike for something. If you wish to express a more subtle feeling, such as being weak at something or finding a task difficult to deal with, you might use 苦手 instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
嫌い is a na-adjective in Japanese. To make the expression polite and suitable for most social situations, you can add です to create 嫌いです. For an informal and blunt way to express dislike, typically used with friends or family, you can add だ to create 嫌いだ. When you use 嫌い to modify a noun directly, you must use the form 嫌いな, such as in the phrase 嫌いな食べ物 (disliked food).
How do you pronounce it?
kirai
Did you know?
- In Japanese pop culture and anime, characters often use 大嫌い (daikirai) to express intense hatred. Paradoxically, in romantic contexts, this can be used as a 'tsundere' trope to mask a hidden affection for someone.
- In Japanese culture, stating 嫌いです can be seen as socially aggressive or overly blunt, even with the polite suffix. People often use indirect phrasing to avoid the social friction caused by expressing a direct dislike.
- When asked about foods they dislike, some Japanese people will use the word 苦手 even if they actually hate the taste. This shifts the blame from the food's quality to their own 'weakness' in handling that specific flavor.
Examples in context
- 大変申し訳ありませんが、苦手です。I'm sorry, but I'm not good with it.
- 私はそれがあまり好きではありません。I don't really like it.
- 嫌いだな。I dislike it.
- それはちょっと苦手だな。I'm not really fond of it.
- 大変申し訳ありませんが、私は遅刻があまり好きではありません。I'm sorry, but I don't really like tardiness.
- わざわざ言わなくても分かるけど、僕は海鮮は嫌いだな。I can tell even without you saying it, but I dislike seafood.
- 納豆が嫌いです。nattou ga kirai desu.I dislike natto.
- 野菜が嫌いですか？yasai ga kirai desu ka?Do you dislike vegetables?
- 彼は掃除が嫌いです。kare wa souji ga kirai desu.He dislikes cleaning.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing food preferences at a restaurant.
- 健太 Kenta辛い料理は嫌いですか？karai ryouri wa kirai desu ka?Do you dislike spicy food?
- 陽葵 Himariはい、とても嫌いです。hai, totemo kirai desu.Yes, I dislike it very much.
- 健太 Kentaそうなんですね。じゃあ、これはどうですか？sou nan desu ne. jaa, kore wa dou desu ka?I see. Well, how about this?
- 陽葵 Himariこれは大丈夫です！kore wa daijoubu desu!This is fine!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 嫌い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
