HSK Level 5

讨厌

tǎo yàn

dislike; loathe

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Example Sentences

Synonyms

Antonyms

喜欢 (xǐhuan)

like

(ài)

love

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 讨厌 (tǎoyàn) is composed of two characters: 讨 (tǎo) and 厌 (yàn). The character 讨 originally meant "to ask for" or "to request", but over time it acquired the meaning of "to find fault with" or "to dislike". The character 厌 originally meant "to feel tired of" or "to be disgusted with", but over time it acquired the meaning of "to hate" or "to detest". Thus, the word 讨厌 literally means "to find fault with and hate" or "to detest and dislike". It is used to express a strong feeling of dislike or aversion towards something or someone. For example, you could say 我讨厌吃西红柿 (wǒ tǎoyàn chī xīhóngshì), which means "I hate eating tomatoes".