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

Noun + + (きら)
(きら) + + Noun

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Noun

  • Word Type

    Adjectival Noun

  • Register

    Standard

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.

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'.

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)いな()(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.

    (きら)いな(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 (18 in total)

  • casual

    casual

    It’s not that it’s impossible to change お母さんが作る朝ごはん to お母さんの作る朝ごはん, since が to の substitution in subordinate clauses is pretty standard.
    But now you’d end up with two の in a row, and is it really any prettier than two が?

  • rkharji

    rkharji

    Thanks for the explanation .

  • rkharji

    rkharji

    Ah I get it. Thanks for clearing it up .

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