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Word 2993 of 4449

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厭々

いやいや

unwillingly; reluctantly; grudgingly; (of an infant) shaking the head in refusal

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 厭々ながら引き受けた。

    いやいやながらひきうけた。

    I took it on reluctantly.

  2. その命令に厭々従う兵もいた。

    そのめいれいにいやいやしたがうへいもいた。

    Some of the soldiers obeyed the order only grudgingly.

  3. 子どもは厭々をして薬を飲もうとしなかった。

    こどもはいやいやをしてくすりをのもうとしなかった。

    The child shook its head and refused to take the medicine.

Common patterns

厭々ながら
reluctantly; against one's will
厭々従う
to obey grudgingly
厭々をする
(of a child) to shake one's head in refusal

Memory tip

Normally written いやいや or 嫌々; the 厭 form is old-fashioned. The set phrase is 〜ながら. Take care with the identical-sounding いやいや used in conversation as "no no, not at all" — that one is just a doubled いや.

Kanji in this word

  • 厭Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does 厭々 mean?