Which one is the right? "Why are you hating me" or "Why are you hating on me"?
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1The one with “on” is right. – Ry- Oct 15 '18 at 15:57
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4Does this question need an "idiom" tag? I would have thought it's "Why do you hate me?" – komodosp Oct 15 '18 at 16:01
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2@Ry- There is no such expression as 'to hate on someone'. Colmde is correct that 'Why do you hate me' is the most natural. – Kate Bunting Oct 15 '18 at 16:09
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@KateBunting: Yeah, there is. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hate_on – Ry- Oct 15 '18 at 16:13
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Hate used to be considered a strong word - one to be avoided. Now, it has become trivialized to this. What a true shame! – user22542 Oct 15 '18 at 16:29
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1@user22542 Yeah, don't you hate it when that happens... – Mr Lister Oct 15 '18 at 18:19
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3Related: Origin of "hating on". – Sven Yargs Oct 15 '18 at 19:52
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Not sure why this picked up a downvote. The current answer demonstrates that it's a valid question of usage, and worthy of being added to our site's library. – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Oct 15 '18 at 22:55
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What is your intended meaning -- since they have slightly different ones? – Martin F Oct 16 '18 at 03:58
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I stand corrected. I had never come across the modern slang usage. – Kate Bunting Oct 16 '18 at 08:35
2 Answers
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Hate on is, in my experience, very much slang. It has the meaning to bestow hatred upon [someone/something], generally through insult or critique. If you're looking to use the idiom in this way, then the correct sentence would be:
Why are you hating on me?
If you are trying to ask why someone dislikes you and want to use standard English, however, then you probably want to ask:
Why do you hate me?
Roger Sinasohn
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2If the slang expression was intended, “Why do you hate me?” wouldn’t be an appropriate non-slang equivalent. – Ry- Oct 15 '18 at 16:38
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Good point, @Ry; I was unclear. I'll reword that part of my answer. Thanks! – Roger Sinasohn Oct 15 '18 at 16:41
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"Hating me" and "Hating on me" have two different meanings.
"Hating me" simply relates to how a person feels about you - generally reflecting an intense dislike but not necessarily consciously acting on that feeling.
"Hating on me" refers to their actions in relation to their feelings about you. For example, if they are acting on their hatred for you by purposefully making hateful or damaging remarks about you or acting in a way that is intended to cause reputational or physical damage to you.
