adverb
unwillingly; reluctantly; grudgingly
Describes doing something with reluctance or lack of enthusiasm, often with a sense of doing it only because one has to.
彼はいやいやながら宿題を始めた。
He reluctantly started his homework.
いやいや引き
It was a job I took on grudgingly, but it turned out to be rewarding.
noun
shaking one's head in refusal (like a child)
Typically used in the pattern いやいやをする, describing the action of a child shaking their head to refuse something.
子供が野菜を食べたくなくて、いやいやをした。
The child didn't want to eat the vegetables and shook their head in refusal.
Rare kanji form.
Rarely used kanji form.
Rarely used kanji form.
Also means 'reluctantly', but implies a more mature, resigned acceptance, while いやいや often carries a childish or petulant nuance.
Reduplication of いや (disagreeable, unpleasant), emphasizing the feeling of reluctance. The noun sense derives from the adverbial use, describing the physical action of refusal.