讨厌
tǎoyàn · HSK 5
to have a dislike of
😖 讨 (demand) + 厌 (be fed up) = demand stops, you're fed up = loathe
讨 means to demand or ask for, 厌 means to be tired of or sick of something. Together: so fed up you demand it stop. Tāo-yàn sounds like towing-yawn — towing something so dull you yawn in disgust.
讨 — speech radical 讠 + inch 寸
A semantic-phonetic compound combining 讠 (speech) with 寸 (a hand/measure), suggesting demanding or seeking through words. The original sense was to denounce or punish verbally, which broadened over time to mean 'to demand,' 'to ask for,' and 'to discuss.' Modern uses like 讨论 (discuss) and 讨厌 (detest) reflect this range.