嫌 — “Dislike / Detest / Hate” in Japanese

Master (高手)けん, げん, きら, いや

Radical ⼥ · radical 38 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Dislike / Detest / Hate” in Japanese is 嫌, read ken, gen, kira (けん, げん, きら, いや). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 嫌い (dislike).

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What does 嫌 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	嫌
Meaning	Dislike / Detest / Hate
Readings	けん, げん, きら, いや
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	嫌い (dislike)

How to read 嫌

嫌 is read ken (けん) or gen (げん) or kira (きら) or iya (いや) depending on the word.

Words with 嫌

嫌い

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Kanji read the same way as 嫌

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28