憎い (にくい, nikui) Japanese meaning: hateful | Kotomora

憎にくい

に

く

い

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

憎い · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	憎にくい	憎にくくない
Polite	憎にくいです	憎にくくないですalso 憎にくくありません
Past polite	憎にくかったです	憎にくくなかったですalso 憎にくくありませんでした
Past	憎にくかった	憎にくくなかった
Te-form	憎にくくて	憎にくくなくて
Adverbial	憎にくく
Conditional	憎にくければ	憎にくくなければ
Tara conditional	憎にくかったら	憎にくくなかったら

Meanings

Expresses strong dislike or irritation toward someone or something. Often used in emotional, subjective contexts.

疎うとましい sense 1
疎ましい describes something that inspires disgust or a wish to avoid it, while 憎い conveys a stronger, more personal feeling of hatred or vexation.
忌々いまいましい sense 1
忌々しい focuses on the irritation or annoyance a situation causes, whereas 憎い centers on the feeling of hatred directed at a person or thing.
嫌きらいN5sense 1
嫌い expresses a general, milder dislike, while 憎い implies a stronger, more personal animosity or vexation.
憎にくらしいN2
憎い expresses deeper, more direct hatred, while 憎らしい focuses on how irritatingly unpleasant someone's behavior or attitude feels.
忌いまわしいN1
憎い focuses on personal hatred or resentment toward a person or action, while 忌まわしい emphasizes a more abstract, moral revulsion or sense of taboo.

愛いとしいN1sense 1
愛しい describes deep affection and fondness, the emotional opposite of the hatred expressed by 憎い.

にくい sense 1
難い is a verb-stem suffix meaning 'difficult to (do)' as in 食べにくい, while 憎い is a standalone adjective meaning 'hateful'; they share the same reading but are unrelated in meaning.
憎にくむN3
憎い is the i-adjective describing something as hateful or detestable, whereas 憎む is the verb meaning to hate; learners often mix up which form to conjugate.

憎にくいUsage92%
Standard kanji spelling for both senses; high-frequency in news and general use.
ニクイUsage4%
にくいUsage3%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when avoiding kanji ambiguity.
ニクいUsage2%
search-only kana form
悪

Derived from the verb 憎む (to hate). The adjective form 憎い developed from the classical adjective にくし, which shared the same root.