嫌弃

• Pinyin: xián qì
• Hanzi breakdown: 嫌 = 女 + 兼 (woman + both — holding simultaneous distaste); 弃 = 廿 + 子 + 廾 (child placed aside — to discard)

Meaning

To dislike and reject; to look down on; to shun. Describes an attitude of distaste or disdain towards a person or thing, often leading to rejection or avoidance.

Carries a strong negative emotional tone — more personal and dismissive than 不喜欢 (to not like). Often implies that the rejection is based on perceived inferiority, undesirability, or unpleasantness. Used in interpersonal relationships (嫌弃老人 = to shun the elderly), consumer contexts (嫌弃产品质量差 = to reject a product for poor quality), and self-deprecation (被社会嫌弃 = spurned by society).

Examples

1. 她从来不嫌弃来求助的邻居，总是热心地出手相帮，无论事情大小。 She never turns away neighbors who come to her for help; she always lends a hand, no matter how small the matter is.
2. 他因为一时的落魄而被昔日的朋友嫌弃，这段经历让他对人性有了更为清醒的认识。 Because of a temporary setback, he was shunned by friends from his past. That experience gave him a clearer understanding of human nature.
3. 老人担心自己年迈体衰会被子女嫌弃，这种忧虑折射出了当代社会养老问题的深层隐忧。 The elderly man worried that as he grew old and frail, his children would look down on him. That anxiety reflects deeper concerns about elder care in contemporary society.

Usage Guide

Context: relationships, society, daily life

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 一些老人晚年会觉得被家人嫌弃，这会伤害心理健康，也会加重孤独和抑郁。(Some elderly people feel disliked by family in later life, which harms mental health and worsens loneliness and depression.)
• 职场里因背景或学历不同而互相嫌弃，常源于对知识价值的片面理解和隐性等级文化。(In the workplace, mutual disdain based on background or education often comes from a narrow view of knowledge and an implicit hierarchical culture.)

Don't Say

• 嫌弃 to simply mean 'not to like' in a mild sense — 嫌弃 carries a strong connotation of rejection and disdain; use 不喜欢 or 不太满意 for mild preferences without the dismissive edge

Origin & History

嫌 (to dislike, to suspect — 女 + 兼, a woman holding two things — ambivalence or distaste) + 弃 (to abandon — 弃, a child placed aside — to discard)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal