きらいがあるtends to (said as criticism)
Someone keeps doing something you think is a fault, and you point it out in a cool, measured voice.
This committee has a regrettable tendency to rush to conclusions without adequately considering opposing views.
How to form it
Verb (dictionary form or ない form) + きらいがある
きらい is written in kana, and here it doesn't mean "dislike".
With a noun
Noun + の + きらいがある
独断のきらいがある, 説明不足のきらいがある.
- Before it
- The habit you find fault with: 結論を急ぐ, 人の話を聞かない, 考えすぎる.
- Often with
- A softener such as やや, 少し or どうも, and 〜すぎる.
- Said about
- People, organizations, and what they write or decide. About yourself, it is owning up to a fault.
- Where you'll meet it
- Editorials, reviews, essays, reports, a careful remark in a meeting. In conversation people say 〜がち or 〜ところがある.
In use
He has a tendency to cite only success stories that suit him and downplay the causes of failure.
This evaluation system has a tendency to place too much weight on short-term results rather than long-term contributions.
I'm afraid I have a habit of assuming the worst far too readily.
Two things to know
It is always a fault
English "tends to" is neutral. きらいがある isn't: you are finding fault. A tendency that is good, or simply a fact, takes 傾向がある.
Not said: 日本人は
(Japanese people tend to eat a lot of fish.)
Nothing wrong with eating fish: 魚をよく食べる傾向がある.
In conversation it's ところがある
He has a tendency not to hear people out.
Written, or said in a measured voice at a meeting.
He has a way of not hearing people out.
What you'd say to a colleague over lunch.
Close neighbours
傾向があるN2
Neutral. It reports what records or surveys show, whether good, bad or neither.
Records from the past five years show that electricity consumption tends to decrease in renovated buildings.
がちN3
Everyday. Something easily ends up happening, usually something unwelcome. It works for roads, trains and the weather as well as people.
This road tends to become congested in winter.
ところがあるN2
What someone is like. がち is what keeps happening, and can't follow a negative or adjective.
My father is strict, but he has a kind side too.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
調査に
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
部長は
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
It is 嫌い in another of its senses: a tendency you don't like to see. That is why it is never said of a good one.
With a noun:
The new department head is a little too ready to decide things on his own.
In a review it can also be about one piece of work, in the past tense: something was rather overdone.
The film packed rather too much story into its second half.
More sentences
His commentary has a tendency to oversimplify problems without examining each case's background.
Public administration has a tendency to prioritize efficiency so heavily that it neglects users' individual circumstances.
Our company meetings have a tendency to rush into countermeasures while leaving responsibility unclear.
This argument has a tendency to emphasize short-term gains while downplaying future costs.