AEE 2422: Don’t Be Loath to Speak English
18:56 Share

This is the All Ears English Podcast, episode 2422. Don't be loathe to speak English. Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host

Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. Reach the top 25% of all native speakers by understanding these three ways to say that you dislike something in English.

Do you ever wish that you could just hang out with native speakers and pick up real English naturally? That's what it's like here on All Ears English. We're two friends having real conversations, no scripts, no lectures, just fun, honest talk about life, culture, and how to connect in English. And we're going to talk about how to connect in English.

It's like grabbing coffee with us and leaving with better English every time. But if you're not following All Ears English, then you're probably missing some episodes. So go ahead and hit the follow button now wherever you listen to the show. Hit follow now and come check us out five days a week.

- Hey there, Aubrey, what's shakin'? - Not much, how are you, Lindsay? - Feeling great today, but I have a key question for you today. You ready? - Yeah, let's hear it. - So Aubrey, in your daily life or just maybe right now in this moment, is there anything you are loathe to do

You know, I am loathe to swim with my kids right now. Our pool is still ice cold, in my opinion. It's way too cold and they are ready to swim. They're getting in. They're like, mom, come swim with me. And it's way too cold for me. So I try, I make excuses and I really, I'm like, I'll just dip my toes in. It's crazy. So I am really loathe to get in that

cold swimming pool. It's funny how we lose our nerve as we get older. It becomes harder and harder to get into swimming pools or cold lakes or the ocean. When we're kids, we just run in like, whoa, we didn't mind at all. I know. Maybe our nerve endings are less sensitive when we're younger. I don't know. Or we just don't care. We just don't care. I don't know. We don't think about it. I don't know. We think a lot as adults, don't we? Yeah, for sure. Well, this is interesting. This word loathe came up in a recent episode of

stay to the end and we'll share which one it is in case you missed it. But I realized when proofreading the transcripts that it is spelled differently if it's an adjective or a verb. That's a really good insight. So I noticed like the misspelling and I was like, but usually I thought it did end with an E. So this is interesting. We're going to share this today. This is a common error by native speakers as well. So not some

you really need to stress about. But if you can make this improvement, there will be times where people are impressed. If it's an email or a written memo or something, especially at work, and you spell this correctly, you're doing better than probably 80% of native English speakers. Oh, for sure. And I think even beyond just spelling it correctly, just using it is going to put you probably in the top

25% of native speakers, I think. I don't think this is an average word. I think this is an above average word to use, Aubrey, don't you think? Yes, it's an impressive word. We're going to go into both the verb and the adjective. And we're also going to share a few more interesting ways to share this because

connection isn't just about things you have in common and things you like. We also connect about things we loathe, things we dread, things we hate. So this is interesting too. You need to also have this vocab. Yeah. And it doesn't mean that you're a negative person if you're always connecting. There can be very positive connection around something you don't want to do, especially if you share that in common with someone else. That can be a true connection moment as well, right?

Yes, for sure. We also want to give a shout out. There was a comment on YouTube from Rahman from India. And there wasn't a question, but they just said, I love all your podcasts. Could you please call out my name in your next podcast? So hello, Rahman. Thank you for the YouTube comment. And we wanted to give you a shout out.

Wonderful. And guys, don't forget to go ahead and hit that follow button wherever you're listening. Now, if you're over on YouTube, you can hit the subscribe button. Just subscribe right there. However, if you're on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, go ahead and hit follow so you make sure you get All Ears English five days a week.

Okay. Yes. Awesome. All right. Let's dive in with this interesting vocabulary. So when we use the adjective loathe, it's always in this chunk loathe to, loathe to do something. And this means to intensely dislike or hate something. So like at the top of the episode, I'm loathe to swim in our pool. Or you might say, I'm loathe to go through haunted houses. I really don't like them. This is true for me. I don't like jump scares. I don't want to be like, that's

not fun. Do you like haunted houses? Yeah, I'm kind of the same way. I love opposite word. I love going on ghost tours. Oh, yeah. That's where I would like. Yeah, you could be on the sidewalk and you're safe and it's happening in that house, right? It's not happening to you. It's very different when you're in a haunted house and things are jumping out at you, right? Right. I think this is from my brother would do this when I was young. He would jump out from behind a door and grab you and scream. And I really hate that now. I'm like, please don't jump scare. Yeah, no jump scare. I love it.

But what's interesting is loathe this way as an adjective is spelled without an E. It's just L-O-A-T-H, loathe to do something. So that's tricky. What's another example of using it this way? So someone's habits, right? They're nocturnal. How awake are they? What are their habits? He has always been loathe to get up early.

Okay, yes, he's just a nighttime person, not a morning person. Exactly, right? And like Lindsay said, this is a little less common, but it is impressive. It's impressive vocabulary. You will hear it. You definitely can use it. But the spelling is a little tricky because there's no E there. What about when there is an E, Lindsay? This is when it's a verb in the sentence.

To be honest, this is a good review for me too, right? Remembering where the E goes. So we put an E at the end in this case, right? L-O-A-T-H-E and that becomes a verb, okay?

So for example, I loathe driving in snowy weather. And I think native speakers tend to punch that loathe too. - I agree. That almost seems strange because it's like intense hatred or dread. So it would be strange to be like, I loathe driving in snowy weather. Emphasize it, I loathe the driving in snowy weather.

And it's also one of those kind of full mouthed words. You need everything happening. So we really indulge in saying that word. I agree. Absolutely. Or maybe she loathes doing homework. Right.

Right. This has it can't be something that you just sort of don't like a little bit. It really has to be a pretty intense feeling. Love it. Love it. All right, Aubrey, where to now? What else do we need to know? Yeah. So just the main thing is that these are pronounced exactly the same. So when you're speaking, you don't have to worry about this at all. It's like effect and effect that we've talked about recently. Yes. Doesn't matter when you're speaking, but they are spelled differently. So when you're writing, if you see the word loathe,

You need to take a second. Okay. Is this being used as an adjective or a verb? And the big pro tip here is if it's loathe to, loathe to do something, that's when there's no E because it's an adjective. Hmm.

Really good to know. So if we're taking the IELTS exam, for example, or if we're just writing a business email, we need to know, or even a text message to a friend, we need to know the difference here. Okay. Absolutely. But let's share some other interesting options because if you're talking about being upset about something or angry or something you dread or hate doing, there are so many interesting words to ways to say this, right? Yes. I really like the word abhor. And this is actually even stronger than loathe.

if you can believe it, because loathe is pretty strong. But if you say you abhor something, that's like the most intense dislike that you can get. Ooh, okay. So for example, I abhor small spaces. I'm definitely claustrophobic. Are you claustrophobic, Aubrey? Do you mind being in an elevator? I'm not really, I don't think so. What about you? No.

No, I don't think so. I had an apartment in New York or Tokyo too. If ever you lived in New York, you can't be claustrophobic. You're basically living in a closet. But if I had to be in an elevator for hours and hours, then I might start getting claustrophobic. I can imagine the length of time definitely would affect that. Yeah, because your mind would start running, right? That's the key. Or maybe this is about Michelle. She pours olives. She doesn't even like the smell of them.

I know. I think Michelle doesn't love olives. I love them so much. And I'm sure a lot of our listeners love, I mean, it's a Mediterranean food. I love olives. I can't imagine a life without olives or olive oil. I mean, I eat so much olive oil. I have a feeling Michelle does eat olive oil. I think it's just the taste of like actual olives, a bowl of green and Kalamata olives, but oh, she is missing out. I love them so much. Totally.

So abhor is a good one. And then disdain is good. This is a noun, right? Well, this is tricky. It exists as a noun and a verb. So let's go over the noun first. So this is the feeling that something isn't worthy of respect or consideration. So maybe like she looked at him with disdain. So this is a noun here, right? It's what she's using to look that her expression has disdain in it. Disdain, like not giving the person a chance, very close-minded, very negative, right?

Absolutely. Or he's always treated her with disdain. Oh, strange word. Yes. Yeah, it is kind of a strange word. And it also exists as a verb. They are spelled the same, luckily, unlike loathe. Good. So this is like if you treat someone like they're not worthy of respect, you can use this as a verb. So the main way I've seen this is if you disdain to answer questions.

This is very rare in English that we use this as a verb. When I saw this in the dictionary, there's a verb and a noun. I had to think, I'm like, I don't hear that very often. So maybe if someone say like, I disdained to answer the questions or present, and this is like, because you dislike the questions, or maybe if it were like on a crime show, be like, she disdained to answer. But this is definitely a connotation of you are not answering them because you disagree with them. Something like that. Right.

Interesting. You don't respect the questions for whatever reason. Yeah. I mean, the courtroom idea, I know in a courtroom, well, at least on courtroom dramas, we hear the word sustained a lot, right? A different word, but maybe in a similar family sort of thing. I don't know. Good point. Good point. So this is really interesting too to think about

Some of these we use more often in the past tense, right? We wouldn't really use abhor in the past tense. We like, I abhorred that film. Right. And loathe, I loathed that restaurant. Not really, right? Instead, we usually use these in the present because they're such strong feelings. It's more like this.

is something I always will always abhor or loathe because it's a strong, it's hard to like hate something that strongly that just happened once, like one trip to a restaurant or something. Right. I see what you're saying. So it's almost, almost like a state of being this feeling almost like exactly that's how strong it is. Right. If it's something we don't like, we probably would say like, Oh, I really hated that. I absolutely detested it.

Or I would say I couldn't stand it. Yes. I really didn't like it. Yes. I love that. That's a really important point. So it's the things that we really hate and we've always hated. We just don't identify with those things anymore.

We're using abhor or loathe, whereas it's a single experience or a movie or a meal, lighter things like hate. I mean, hate is not light, but... Like we don't get that passionate about like an individual experience, right? So these words, this is what's important to pay attention to here is these words really signify the

a passionate dislike. And so it is strange if you use them. We don't even really use them jokingly to talk about how much we dislike something. I guess you could be like, oh, I loathe spinach. And you're just joking, right? But for the most part, it's for things that you really hate, feel very strongly about. All right. Good to know. Excellent.

I have learned after so many years as an entrepreneur that speed matters when it comes to hiring, but so does quality. You need the most qualified person on your team fast. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites.

Indeed's sponsored jobs helps you stand out and hire fast. With sponsored jobs, your job post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. And it makes a huge difference. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs. High

Hiring for me in the past has felt overwhelming. Managing all of the incoming applications, making sure you write the job ad in a way that attracts top talent,

That's what I love about Indeed. It speeds up the process and makes it easier. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash A-E-E.

Just go to indeed.com slash A-E-E right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash A-E-E. That's I-N-D-E-E-D dot com slash A-E-E. Terms and conditions do apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.

Okay, Aubrey, we are back from break. Let's do a role play for today. Here we are discussing the foods that we dislike. Okay, let's see. I'll start us out. I'm not usually picky, but I absolutely abhor eel. Really? I love eel rolls at a sushi place. Eel sauce is delicious. Yeah, it's not for me. I'm loathe to even think about eating eel. What about you? Are there any foods that you can't stand?

Yeah, I've always had disdain for masago. Oh, that's fish eggs, right? Yeah, I don't know what it is, but I loathe it. Okay, nice. So this is possible that you like really dislike certain foods and we would use, you know, abhor, loathe, whatever. But if you just mean to say like, I don't really like that very much, we wouldn't use these bigger, stronger words. I think a lot of people have issues around texture, right? The texture of things. Even some people don't like the texture of eggs, right?

But sort of fish eggs, the texture, I think people probably struggle with. That's why I like eel, but I know someone who doesn't and I think it's a texture thing. Yeah. No, eel is great. When I lived in Japan for my last meal there, my friends, my Japanese friends took me to an eel restaurant, a place like in the mountains that specialized just in eel. Wow.

amazing yeah it was awesome and i do love eel sauce this is me i think it's so tasty it's a little bit sweeter on some rolls oh so delicious yes exactly let's go through this so again you said i'm usually not picky but i absolutely abhor eel it's kind of a weird word too because we are kind of

pronouncing the H, aren't we, Aubrey? Yes, we do have to, right? You hit that H kind of hard, abhor. And this is another one where you have to hit the word hard. You have to emphasize it just like loathe. It's a little strange. You're like, I really abhor that. No, the intonation needs to be powerful because the emotion, the passion about the dislike is powerful. The word implies that.

Yeah, we don't want to have that flat affect, right? We want to make sure we're putting life into our words here. What else, Aubrey? Yeah, and then I said, it's not for me. I'm loathe to even think about eating eel. So this is where it's an adjective. I'm describing myself as loathe to think about something.

hmm very interesting construction too i'm yeah so it would be without the either right okay no either good and then i said hmm yeah i've always had disdain for masago yeah since i've always and this is an interesting thing to say like disdain because it does often imply

More of like a lack of respect. So this would be sort of joking even to say this about food. Be like, oh, I have such disdain for masago. Like I would probably laugh at that. Like that's really funny because it usually does imply more like you are critical of something. You disrespect something. Right. For bigger things than just food. Like food is just a taste. That's all it is. It's sort of one dimensional. Right. But for example, like political politics.

parties or certain ways of thinking would be more common for disdain, right? Yeah, that's where you would use it more literally, right? This is kind of more joking. But yeah, you could say you have disdain for a certain political candidate or people who agree with a certain policy. That would be more because it's more of a lack of respect for that. For sure. And then the last thing that was said was, yeah, I

I don't know what it is, but I loathe it. Right? So they just mean like, I really hate it. Yeah. And this is because it's a verb. This would be spelled with an E L O A T H E. All right. Good high level episode for our listeners today at the B2C1 level. I love it. Yes, absolutely. We want to make sure that you don't miss the episode that inspired this.

And 2402 right here on All Ears English, should you call someone cheap in English? Where we said sometimes people are loathe to spend money. So we used it as an adjective there so it wouldn't have an E. Yes. And the connection piece here, guys, for today is it's not always, it doesn't have to be about these positive, amazing things that you're connecting over. You can build just as strong of a connection over things that you loathe and have disdain for. Okay.

Absolutely. Yes. Right. I feel like that would even bond you closer with someone if you are sort of willing to admit these more negative things. I don't love everything, right? The people I'm close to, I want to build a stronger connection with. I'm going to admit the things that I really abhor. Especially if it's very like most people love this thing, but you actually have disdain for it. Right. Yeah. Hot take. Yes, exactly. That could build a really strong sense of trust and connection right there. So that's what we're going for.

All right. Good stuff, Aubrey. We'll see you in the next episode of All Ears English. And guys, hit the follow button now. Yes. Awesome. We'll see you guys next time. All right. Take care. Bye. Bye.

Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.