Structure Legend
Structure
Noun + が + 嫌い
嫌い + な + Noun
Details
Part of Speech
Noun
Word Type
Adjectival Noun
Register
Standard
品詞
名詞
単語の種類
形容動詞
使用域
一般
About きらい
嫌い, meaning 'to dislike', is one of the very common な-Adjectives in Japanese that is used in many different expressions. All な-Adjectives behave similarly to verbs, in that their form changes depending on what comes after them.
For 嫌い, it will be followed by either な, when acting as an adjective, だ, or the more polite です, when acting as a noun. This distinction is made depending on whether it is linked to another noun, or is independent.
In the same way that 好き can often be partnered with 大 to mean 'love', 嫌い can often be partnered with 大 to mean 'hate'.
For 嫌い, it will be followed by either な, when acting as an adjective, だ, or the more polite です, when acting as a noun. This distinction is made depending on whether it is linked to another noun, or is independent.
- それは嫌いだ。I don't like that. (That is dislikable)
- 私はスポーツが嫌いです。I don't like sports. (They are dislikable, to me)
- 彼の嫌いな食べ物はピザです。The food he doesn't like is pizza. (The food that is disliked, by him)
In the same way that 好き can often be partnered with 大 to mean 'love', 嫌い can often be partnered with 大 to mean 'hate'.
- 大嫌いな先輩が来る。The senpai I hate is coming.
Caution
Despite ending in い, 嫌い is one of the few words that is actually a な-Adjective, and needs to be memorized.Antonyms
Examples
パイナップルが嫌い?
Do you dislike pineapple?
うん、大嫌いだ。
Yeah, I hate it.
嫌いな食べ物がありますか。
Is there a food that you dislike?
はい、納豆が嫌いです。
Yes, I dislike natto.
Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans that is also known for its powerful smell and sticky texture.
嫌いな色はありません。
There is no color that I dislike.
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
Additional Breakdown and Example Sentences
Nihongo Master
Offline
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 134
みんなの日本語 I
Page 62 [CH 9]
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 190
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
きらい – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (13 in total)
Pushindawood
About 3 years ago
@ilyakamens Hi! The rule more applies to how けど interacts with all な-adjectives, not just きらい. The hint that you should have gotten is “Nouns/な-adjectives need something before が or けど.” If you follow the Bunpro order, the けど grammar point appears just before the きらい grammar point and outlines that だ is required after a noun/な-adjective and before けど. While there are some edge cases where you can separate きらい and けど with a comma or even find them uttered together in casual speech, it is best practice to use だ after a な-adjective and before けど. Cheers!
ilyakamens
About 3 years ago
Ah. I must have forgotten. Thank you for the through explanation!
BunLess78
About 1 year ago
Isn’t Kirai closer to hate, as opposed to amari suki?
I was taught not to say Kirai in this situation unless I felt very strongly about it, and even then only if I was with friends. In a business situation it may come off too heated or accidentally comedic, yes?
Got questions about きらい? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion