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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "What do you dislike?" in Japanese?

何が嫌いですか?

nani ga kirai desu ka ?

Phrase Kanji

In Japanese, "What do you dislike?" is 何が嫌いですか? (nani ga kirai desu ka ?).

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Pronunciation

何が嫌いですか? is written using kanji. Romanised as nani ga kirai desu ka ?, it sounds roughly like "nah-nee-gah-kee-rah-ee-deh-soo-kah" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Kirai (嫌い) uses the kanji kira (dislike) to express the opposite of suki. The question nani ga kirai desu ka is direct, though some speakers soften it.

Example sentence

「何が嫌いですか?」は好みを尋ねる表現です。

'Nani ga kirai desu ka?' wa konomi wo tazuneru hyougen desu.

'What do you dislike?' is an expression for asking about preferences.

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How to remember 何が嫌いですか?

Kirai is suki flipped on its head. The character combines iya (unpleasant) and ai (love), creating a contradictory but clear concept.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese phrases.

Questions about 何が嫌いですか?

How do you pronounce 何が嫌いですか?

何が嫌いですか? is romanised as nani ga kirai desu ka ?. Say it roughly like "nah-nee-gah-kee-rah-ee-deh-soo-kah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 何が嫌いですか formal or casual?

何が嫌いですか? is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 何が嫌いですか written in Japanese?

何が嫌いですか? is written using kanji. Kirai (嫌い) uses the kanji kira (dislike) to express the opposite of suki.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"What do you dislike?" in other languages

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