Dissatisfaction with 気に食わない
不満である。気にいらない。
To be dissatisfied. To not like.
Goo Dictionary
The expression 気に食わない means “to not sit well with someone”, “to not like”, or “to be displeased or annoyed by something”. It conveys a sense of personal dissatisfaction, dislike, or irritation toward something or someone, often due to subjective reasons.
Similar idioms in English include “get on one’s nerves”, “make one sick”, and “rub the wrong way”.
This idiom is negative only. There is no affirmative counterpart. It is a rougher and more vulgar version of 気にいらない.
Examples
Further Reading
- Garrison, Jeff et al. Kodansha's Dictionary of Basic Japanese Idioms, Kodansha, 2002, p. 256