Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 4: 10/13

(きら)

Dislike, Not fond of

Despite ending in い, きらい is a な-Adjective

Structure Legend

Structure

Noun + + (きら)
(きら) + + 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

(きら), 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 (きら), it will be followed by either , when acting as an adjective, , 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(きら)
    I don't like that. (That is dislikable)
  • (わたし)スポーツ(きら)です
    I don't like sports. (They are dislikable, to me)
  • (かれ)(きら)()(もの)ピザです
    The food he doesn't like is pizza. (The food that is disliked, by him)
In the example with , (きら) is expressing that the thing is 'dislikable' (assertion). However, in the example with , (きら) is expressing 'being disliked' as a quality of the noun it is attached to.
In the same way that () can often be partnered with (だい) to mean 'love', (きら) can often be partnered with (だい) to mean 'hate'.
  • (だい)(きら)先輩(せんぱい)()
    The senpai I hate is coming.
Caution
Despite ending in い, (きら) is one of the few words that is actually a な-Adjective, and needs to be memorized.

Examples

  • パイナップル(きら)

    Do you dislike pineapple?

  • うん(だい)(きら)

    Yeah, I hate it.

  • (きら)()(もの)があります

    Is there a food that you dislike?

  • はい納豆(なっとう)(きら)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.

  • (きら)(いろ)ありません。

    There is no color that I dislike.

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きらい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

  • Pushindawood

    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

    ilyakamens

    About 3 years ago

    Ah. I must have forgotten. Thank you for the through explanation!

  • BunLess78

    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?

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