憎 means “hate, loathe”

にくむ · nikumu

Also: detest

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

にくむ, にくい, にくらしい, にくしみ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ゾウ

JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 14 strokes

The story

A heart (忄) beside 曽, the piece that also stacks up in 増 and 層: resentment piling up layer on layer. 憎む is to hate, 憎しみ is hatred, and the proverb 罪を憎んで人を憎まず says to hate the crime, not the person.

Used in 憎む (nikumu, to hate), 憎しみ (nikushimi, hatred), and 憎らしい (nikurashii, hateful/infuriating)

More from Heart & Mind

• 肯 affirm
• 依 depend
• 純 pure
• 快 pleasant
• 悩 worry
• 珍 rare
• 叫 shout

Learn 憎 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.