Meaning of 讨厌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to dislike; to loathe
- annoying; troublesome
How to use 讨厌
讨厌 works both as a verb, to dislike someone or something, and as an adjective, annoying. It is very common in speech, and said playfully it can even sound teasing or affectionate. Example: 我讨厌下雨天。(Wǒ tǎoyàn xiàyǔ tiān.) I hate rainy days.
讨 (tǎo) has the speech radical 讠 and means to ask for or invite, and 厌 (yàn) means to be fed up, as in 厌烦 (yànfán). Think of it as inviting someone's fed-up feeling: something that makes people sick of it is 讨厌.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 讨厌 with 讨论 (tǎolùn, to discuss) because they share 讨, so check the second character. Also, 厌 is fourth tone (yàn), not yān.
讨厌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
讨 tǎo · to invite · 5 strokes
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- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
厌 yàn · to dislike · 6 strokes
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- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 讨厌.
| 讨论 | tǎolùn | to discuss; to talk over |
| 探讨 | tàntǎo | to investigate; to probe |
| 厌倦 | yànjuàn | to be weary of; to be fed up with; to be bored with |
| 厌烦 | yànfán | bored; fed up with sth; sick of sth |
| 讨好 | tǎohǎo | to get the desired outcome; to win favor by fawning on sb |
| 讨价还价 | tǎojià-huánjià | to haggle over price; to bargain |
| 讨人喜欢 | tǎo rén xǐhuan | to attract people's affection; charming |
| 商讨 | shāngtǎo | to discuss; to deliberate |
| 乞讨 | qǐtǎo | to beg; to go begging |
| 检讨 | jiǎntǎo | to examine or inspect; self-criticism |
| 研讨 | yántǎo | discussion |
| 厌恶 | yànwù | to loathe; to hate |
Questions about 讨厌
What does 讨厌 mean?
讨厌 (tǎoyàn) means "to dislike; to loathe; annoying; troublesome".
How do you write 讨厌?
讨厌 is made of 2 characters: 讨 (5 strokes), 厌 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 讨厌 an HSK word?
Yes. 讨厌 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 讨厌 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 讨厌 is written 討厭.
Is 讨厌 stronger than 不喜欢?
Yes. 不喜欢 (bù xǐhuan) simply means not liking something, while 讨厌 expresses active dislike or annoyance. For very strong hatred, people use 恨 (hèn).
Why do people say 讨厌 in a cute or flirty way?
In casual speech, especially among friends or couples, 讨厌 said with a soft tone can mean something like 'you're so annoying' in a teasing way. The meaning depends heavily on tone of voice and context.