Components

Grammar detail: 〜がきらい

〜がきらい  (I, You, etc.) don't like~; dislike~
257 words
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noun
+
+
きらい(です/だ)
means
(I, You, etc.) don't like~; dislike~
The person who dislikes something can be added at the beginning of the sentence, followed by は, to show who feels that way.
ぼくコーヒーきらい
I don't like coffee.
わたし
さけ
きら
です
I don't like drinking.
わたし
かれ
きら
です
I do not care for him.
  • は shows the topic (who we are talking about).
  • が marks the thing that is disliked.
However, in Japanese, the topic is often omitted when it is obvious from the situation. In everyday conversation, it is usually clear when you are speaking about yourself, so
わたし
は is often not said.
たまご
きら
です
I don't care for eggs.
かがく
化学
きら

I hate chemistry.
きらい is a な-adjective, not a verb.
Although it translates as “dislike” in English, きらい does not function like a verb such as
みます (to read) or
きます (to write).
Since きらい is a な-adjective, it does not take the particle を. Instead, we use が. This is because the thing that is disliked is treated grammatically as the subject of the adjective, not as the object of a verb.
  • Correct
    トマトきらいです。
  • Incorrect
    トマトきらいきです。
Using きらい な to describe a noun
Up to now, we have used きらいです at the end of a sentence to say that someone dislikes something. However, because きらい is a な-adjective, it can also come before a noun and describe it directly. In this case, we add な before the noun.
  • きらいな
    もの
    はトマトです。The food I dislike is tomatoes.
  • きらいな
    かもく
    科目
    かがく
    化学
    です。The subject I don't like is chemistry.
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Kanji used in this grammar

シ   わたくし    わたし I, myself   
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ドク   トク   トウ   よ to read   
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ショ   か to write   
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ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   く to eat   
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ブツ   モツ   もの thing   
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カ    department   
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ボク   モク   eye   ま-    め    
カ   ケ   ばける to change   
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ガク   まな to learn   
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シュ   さけ    さか- sake   
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ケン   ゲン   いや disagreeable   きら to dislike   
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ヒ   かれ he   
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ラン   たまご egg   
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