Meaning and Usage
The adjective 憎らしい (にくらしい) expresses a strong feeling of dislike or hatred toward someone or something. It often conveys emotional intensity, such as frustration or jealousy, beyond simple dislike.
Common Contexts
憎らしい is frequently used to describe people’s attitudes, behaviors, or situations that provoke irritation or envy. For example, a person’s smug behavior or repeated success might be called 憎らしい.
Collocations and Patterns
- 憎らしい態度 (にくらしいたいど): hateful attitude
- 憎らしいほど (にくらしいほど): to the extent of being hateful (used to emphasize a strong feeling, often jealousy)
- 憎らしい敵 (にくらしいてき): hateful enemy
Register and Nuance
This word is somewhat literary or emotional and is more common in written or formal spoken Japanese than casual conversation. It expresses a deeper emotional reaction than just いやな or 嫌い.
Common Learner Mistake
Avoid confusing 憎らしい with 憎い (にくい), which also means hateful but is often used in slightly different contexts or with different grammatical patterns. 憎らしい tends to emphasize the emotional irritation or jealousy aspect more strongly.