Meaning

Primary

To Irritate

Alternatives

To Annoy, To Affect Negatively, To Be Bad For

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This is the verb version of hinder, but it's what happens when you hinder someone else enough. You'll start to irritate and to annoy them.

Reading

さわる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

If you want to irritate me, all you have to do is make what I'm eating sour (さわ). Did you know sour food is known to be bad for you, too? Don't make that sour face, stop eating sour things!

Context

Context Sentences

ごめん。気に障ったのなら、あやまるよ。

I'm sorry. I apologize if I offended you.

Kanji Composition