嫌

The glyph describes a spectrum of finding something to be "not-quite-right," ranging from emotional dissatisfaction to cognitive apprehension:

• Evaluative: Finding fault with something or finding it distasteful. This is typically a judgment of insufficiency, inadequacy, or unacceptability rather than visceral hatred.
• Cognitive/Legal: The perception of irregularity; the intuition that a discrepancy suggests guilt or a hidden motive (suspicion).

Primarily functions as a transitive verb:

• Direct Object: To dislike, disdain, or suspect a person or thing.
• Condition/Quality: To find a specific quality unsatisfactory (e.g., finding a price too high or a distance too great).

• Vs. 恨 or 惡: While often glossed as "hate," 嫌 is more specifically about a judgment of inadequacy or distaste than active, visceral loathing.
• Sense Boundary: The translator should distinguish between whether the subject is reacting to a perceived flaw (disdain/criticism) or detecting a lie (suspicion).

Fanqie reading: 戶兼; Tang-period reading: *hem.

Contextual pairings often clarify the intended sense:

• 嫌 + 厭 (loathe/weary): Indicates distaste and dissatisfaction.
• 嫌 + 疑 (doubt): Indicates suspicion and legal apprehension.