# the food you don't like



## Encolpius

Good morning, I am a beginner at Japanese. How would you translate the phrase "the food you do not like"? I sit possible to translate is using 好き to avoid 嫌い which I find too strong? Thanks. Encolpius.


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## gengo

好きじゃない食べ物
あまり好きじゃない食べ物
口に合わない食べ物

It sort of depends on the specific context, but the first one above conveys the basic idea.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

嫌いな食べ物 doesn't seem to be strong to me. It's quite common and standard expression in Japanese.

苦手な食べ物 might be a little softer than 嫌いな食べ物, but they are more or less the same.

嫌いというほどではないがあまり好きではない食べ物 is obviously less strong.


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## Encolpius

I read 嫌い is strong written in a Czech textbook about Japanese grammar, that's why I have been looking for another version. So 嫌い is not as strong as the English "to hate, hatred", right? So can you say "the new colleague I do not like" 嫌いな新しい同僚?


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## SoLaTiDoberman

Oh, I see your point.
I don't think generalizing everything is a wise idea.
I was talking about the specific expression "嫌いな食べ物," which is a set phrase in Japanese.
It doesn't offend any person. For example, even when I say, "私の嫌いな食べ物はマンゴーです," any mangos never ever feel bad because mangos don't have their emotion or "brain."
Any readers or listeners who read/listen to "嫌いな食べ物" would never think it "too strong."

"I don't like mangos." ...1 
"I hate mangos." ...2
Even in Englsih, both 1 and 2 are completely fine, I think.
1 is a quite ordinary expression, and when I hear 2, I just think that the speker really dislike mangos very much. I don't think the sentence 2 is too strong and unnatural as an English sentence.

In case of 嫌いな食べ物はマンゴーです, we cannot notice any "unnaturally or extraordinarily strong hatred against mangos." It's just an ordinary expression.

If you say "I don't like mangos" or "I hate mangos" in front of the farmer who is producing mangos, it would not be nice. In that case, you may tell a white lie,
「すみません。マンゴーは食べてみたいのですが、フルーツアレルギーがあって医者から決して食べないように指導されているので食べた事がありません。」
or something, right?


In the case of 私の嫌いな新入りの同僚, you should not say it to themselves, of course, because "I don't like you" in front of their face is very offensive, even when you don't choose "I hate you," right?
新入りの (newbie) is also an offensive word choice, right?

新しく入った同僚は、私は苦手です。
新しく入った同僚は、私の苦手なタイプです。
新しく入った同僚と私は、どうも相性が悪そうです。
新しく入った同僚と私は、どうも馬が合わないのかもしれません。
are candidates for milder expression, but anyway, you should not say it directly to them.

If you're talking your close friend about them, any offensive words would be okay, right?
今度の新入りは虫が好かん。
今度の新入りは大嫌いだ。
今度の新入り、どうにかならんかね。
今度の新入り、すぐに辞めてくれんかね。大嫌いだわ。etc.
are offensive, but these expressions are okay because in this situation, you want to say something rude and offensive intentionally about them to your close friend. When you speak ill of others behind their back, you would prefer to choose offensive words, right?

Therefore, any usages depend on the context and background.
Do not confuse a certain context's usage as a general rule.

On second thought, as you're a beginner learner of Japanese, when you don't understand my explanations, just feel free to forget #3 and #5 and follow just #2.
I didn't mean to make you confused.
Thank you.


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## Encolpius

Hello, thank you for the nice explanation. There is another factor, English is not my mother tongue. 🙂 So it might be different in Hungarian. I do not think I would use the Hungarian version of "to hate" even for a fruit in Hungarian. Maybe a 5-years old could say it when angry "I hate spinach!", etc. I'd just use "do not like". But that might be a question for English only forum, right? Or maybe there might be difference between American and British usage. Who knows.


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## gengo

Encolpius said:


> I do not think I would use the Hungarian version of "to hate" even for a fruit in Hungarian. Maybe a 5-years old could say it when angry "I hate spinach!", etc. I'd just use "do not like".



I think "hate" is closer to 大嫌い.  We don't use "dislike" very often in English, but it may be closer to 嫌い.  Of course, these words don't map perfectly between the two languages.


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## Encolpius

yes, that was my impression, too and I translated it just like you: *好きじゃない*食べ物.
I am wondering what natives think about it.


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## gengo

Encolpius said:


> I am wondering what natives think about it.



Well, Sola said:



SoLaTiDoberman said:


> just feel free to forget [posts] #3 and #5 and follow just [post] #2.


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