Are there any common phrases or idioms that use 苦しい (kurushii)?

Yes, there are a few common expressions where 苦しい (kurushii) appears: 苦しい言い訳 (kurushii iiwake) - A lame excuse / A strained excuse. This implies the excuse is so weak or unbelievable that it's 'painful' to listen to or believe. 苦しい立場 (kurushii tachiba) - A difficult/awkward position/situation. This refers to being in a predicament where one feels constrained or under pressure. 苦しい戦い (kurushii tatakai) - A hard-fought battle / A grueling fight. This implies a struggle that required great effort and was very challenging.

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B1 adjective 5 دقیقه مطالعه

苦しい

Q: What's the plain form of 苦しい (kurushii)?

苦しい (kurushii) is already the plain form of this i-adjective. I-adjectives don't change their ending for the plain form when they are used to describe a noun (e.g., 苦しい状況 - kurushii joukyou - a painful situation) or at the end of a sentence in informal speech (e.g., 苦しいよ - kurushii yo - It's tough, you know!). For its dictionary form, it's also 苦しい (kurushii).

kurushii

When we say something is 苦しい (kurushii), we're talking about a feeling of difficulty or pain. It's often used for physical pain, like a stomach ache or a headache, where you might say お腹が苦しい (onaka ga kurushii) for an upset stomach. But it's also common for mental or emotional struggles. For instance, if you're in a tough situation financially, you could describe your life as 生活が苦しい (seikatsu ga kurushii), meaning life is difficult or hard to manage. It can even describe a difficult game or challenge, like this game is hard, このゲームは苦しい (kono geemu wa kurushii).

تمرین کن نکات و راهنمایی‌ها

§ Basic Meaning of 苦しい (kurushii)

The Japanese adjective 苦しい (kurushii) is quite versatile and important to understand. At its core, it means 'painful,' 'difficult,' or 'agonizing.' However, its usage goes beyond just physical pain. It can describe a wide range of unpleasant sensations and situations, both physical and mental.

DEFINITION: Painful, difficult, or agonizing.

Think of it as a general term for 'suffering' or 'hardship' in various contexts. It's an 'i-adjective,' so it conjugates like other i-adjectives (e.g., 楽しい (tanoshii) - fun, 寒い (samui) - cold). Knowing this helps you form different tenses and politeness levels.

§ When to use 苦しい (kurushii) for Physical Sensations

One of the most common ways to use 苦しい is to talk about physical discomfort or pain. This isn't usually a sharp, acute pain, but rather a more general feeling of struggle or distress.

Breathing difficulty: If you're out of breath from running, or have asthma, you would say 息が苦しい (iki ga kurushii).
Tightness or pressure: If your clothes are too tight, or you feel a pressure in your chest, 苦しい is appropriate.
Stomach discomfort: After eating too much, your stomach might feel 苦しい.

ランニングの後、苦しい息をしています。(Ranningu no ato, kurushii iki o shiteimasu.)

Hint: After running, I am breathing with difficulty.

このセーターは少し苦しいです。(Kono seetaa wa sukoshi kurushii desu.)

Hint: This sweater is a little tight/uncomfortable.

§ When to use 苦しい (kurushii) for Mental or Emotional Distress

Beyond the physical, 苦しい is very frequently used to describe mental and emotional states. This is where its meaning of 'difficult' or 'agonizing' really comes through.

Emotional pain: If you're going through a tough time emotionally, dealing with loss, or feeling overwhelmed, you can say 心が苦しい (kokoro ga kurushii) or simply 苦しい.
Difficult situations: A financially challenging period, a demanding job, or a complex problem can be described as 苦しい状況 (kurushii joukyou - a difficult situation).
Struggling to make ends meet: 生活が苦しい (seikatsu ga kurushii) means 'life is difficult' or 'it's hard to make a living.'

彼女は試験のプレッシャーで苦しい思いをしている。(Kanojo wa shiken no puresshaa de kurushii omoi o shiteiru.)

Hint: She is having a difficult/agonizing time due to exam pressure.

最近、仕事がとても苦しいです。(Saikin, shigoto ga totemo kurushii desu.)

Hint: Recently, work has been very difficult/hard.

§ 苦しい (kurushii) in broader contexts

You'll find 苦しい used to describe things that are simply 'hard to do' or 'strained.'

Difficult arguments/explanations: A 苦しい言い訳 (kurushii iiwake) is a 'lame excuse' or a 'strained explanation' – one that's hard to believe or justify.
Tight schedule: 苦しいスケジュール (kurushii sukejūru) means a 'tight' or 'demanding schedule.'

それは少し苦しい言い訳ですね。(Sore wa sukoshi kurushii iiwake desu ne.)

Hint: That's a bit of a strained/lame excuse, isn't it?

Remember, context is key. While its core meaning stays consistent, the nuance of 'painful,' 'difficult,' or 'agonizing' will shift depending on what it's describing. Pay attention to the nouns it modifies or the situations it describes to grasp its full meaning.

§ Similar words and when to use this one vs alternatives

When you're learning Japanese, you'll encounter several words that can all be translated as 'painful' or 'difficult' in English. It's important to understand the nuances so you can use the right word at the right time. Let's break down 苦しい (kurushii) and its common alternatives.

§ 苦しい (kurushii) - Physical, Mental, or Situational Difficulty

As we've seen, 苦しい (kurushii) is a versatile adjective. It covers a broad range of difficulties:

Physical pain/discomfort: When your body is struggling.
Mental anguish: Emotional pain, sadness, or stress.
Situational difficulty: A tough financial situation, a challenging job, or a difficult decision.

息が苦しいです。

Hint: I'm having trouble breathing. (Literally: My breathing is difficult/painful.)

精神的に苦しい時でも、彼は諦めなかった。

Hint: Even in mentally agonizing times, he didn't give up.

資金繰りが苦しい。

Hint: Finances are tight. (Literally: My fund management is difficult.)

§ 痛い (itai) - Physical Pain Only

This is the most direct translation for 'painful' when it refers specifically to physical pain. You use 痛い (itai) for a headache, a cut, a bruise, etc. It doesn't typically describe mental or situational difficulties.

頭が痛い。

Hint: My head hurts.

指をぶつけて、すごく痛い。

Hint: I hit my finger, and it really hurts.

§ 難しい (muzukashii) - Difficult (intellectual/skill-based)

This word is used when something requires a lot of thought, skill, or effort to understand or accomplish. It's about intellectual or practical difficulty, not usually pain or emotional distress.

この問題は難しい。

Hint: This problem is difficult.

日本語の文法は、私には難しいです。

Hint: Japanese grammar is difficult for me.

§ しんどい (shindoi) - Tired, Exhausting (often physical)

しんどい (shindoi) is a more informal word, often used in Kansai dialect but understood nationwide. It means 'exhausting,' 'tiring,' or 'a pain in the neck.' It can refer to physical tiredness or a task that is a general hassle or drain.

Physical exhaustion: After a long day of work or exercise.
Mental strain: Something that is tedious or mentally draining.

今日は一日中歩いて、足がしんどい。

Hint: I walked all day today, and my legs are exhausted/tired.

あの仕事は本当にしんどい。

Hint: That job is really a pain/exhausting.

§ Summary of Usage

苦しい (kurushii): Use for a broad sense of pain, suffering, struggle, or difficulty – physical, mental, emotional, or situational.
痛い (itai): Use strictly for physical pain or soreness.
難しい (muzukashii): Use for intellectual difficulty, things that are hard to understand or accomplish due to complexity or skill requirement.
しんどい (shindoi): Use for exhaustion, being worn out, or when something is a tiresome hassle (more informal).

By paying attention to these distinctions, you'll be able to express yourself more accurately and naturally in Japanese. Keep practicing, and you'll get the hang of it!

سطح دشواری

خواندن 1/5

Common kanji, relatively easy to recognize.

نوشتن 1/5

Standard strokes, not too complex.

صحبت کردن 1/5

Straightforward pronunciation, no unusual intonation.

گوش دادن 1/5

Commonly used, easy to distinguish.

بعداً چه یاد بگیریم؟

پیش‌نیازها

痛い (itai - painful) 難しい (muzukashii - difficult) 悲しい (kanashii - sad)

بعداً یاد بگیرید

辛い (tsurai - painful, bitter, heartbreaking) 大変 (taihen - difficult, tough, awful) 苦しむ (kurushimu - to suffer, to be distressed)

پیشرفته

苦悩 (kunou - agony, anguish) 苦労 (kurou - troubles, hardships, toil)

ترکیب‌های رایج

胸が苦しい chest pain, tightness in chest

息が苦しい shortness of breath, difficulty breathing

苦しい生活 difficult life, hardship

苦しい立場 difficult position, predicament

苦しい選択 difficult choice

苦しい戦い tough fight

苦しい練習 hard practice

苦しい顔 pained expression

苦しい言い訳 poor excuse, lame excuse

苦しい時 difficult times

عبارات رایج

この仕事は苦しいです。

This job is difficult/tough.

お腹が空いて苦しい。

I'm hungry and it's painful (a bad feeling).

彼は苦しそうに歩いていた。

He was walking with difficulty/in pain.

試験が苦しかった。

The exam was tough/hard.

借金で生活が苦しい。

Life is hard because of debt.

苦しいけれど、頑張る。

It's tough, but I'll do my best.

苦しい状況を乗り越える。

To overcome a difficult situation.

彼の言葉に苦しくなった。

His words made me feel bad/upset.

この服は少し苦しい。

These clothes are a little tight/uncomfortable.

運動の後、足が苦しい。

My legs feel painful/sore after exercising.

اغلب اشتباه گرفته می‌شود با

苦しい vs しんどい (shindoi)

This is a Kansai dialect word that also means 'tired,' 'exhausted,' or 'painful/difficult.' It shares a similar feeling of hardship or suffering with 苦しい (kurushii), but it's informal and regional.

苦しい vs きつい (kitsui)

Can mean 'tight,' 'strict,' or 'hard/tough.' When referring to a task or situation, it can overlap with 苦しい (kurushii) in meaning 'difficult' or 'strenuous,' but often with a nuance of being physically demanding or challenging to complete.

苦しい vs つらい (tsurai) vs くるしい (kurushii)

This is a very common point of confusion. Remember that 苦しい (kurushii) often emphasizes the 'struggle' or 'agony' itself, whether physical (struggling to breathe) or mental/situational (financial hardship), whereas 辛い (tsurai) often highlights the 'toughness' or 'painfulness' of an experience or emotion (hard to endure, emotionally painful). Sometimes they are interchangeable, but often one fits better than the other depending on the specific nuance.

به‌راحتی اشتباه گرفته می‌شود

苦しい vs 辛い (つらい)

Both 苦しい and 辛い can be translated as 'painful' or 'difficult,' leading to confusion.

苦しい (kurushii) often describes a physical or mental state of suffering, like struggling to breathe, financial hardship, or emotional anguish. 辛い (tsurai) also describes pain or difficulty, but often has a nuance of something being 'tough' or 'hard to endure,' especially emotionally or due to a situation. It can also describe physical pain.

試合に負けて悔しくて辛い。(Shiai ni makete kuyashikute tsurai.) - It's tough/painful to lose the game and feel regretful.

苦しい vs 難しい (むずかしい)

Both can mean 'difficult.'

難しい (muzukashii) specifically means 'difficult' in terms of intellectual challenge or complexity, like a hard problem or a complex task. 苦しい (kurushii) implies difficulty that causes suffering or struggle, like a difficult situation that is causing distress.

この漢字は書くのが難しい。(Kono kanji wa kaku no ga muzukashii.) - This kanji is difficult to write.

苦しい vs 痛い (いたい)

Both can describe pain.

痛い (itai) almost exclusively refers to physical pain or soreness. 苦しい (kurushii) can refer to physical pain but more often carries the meaning of suffering, anguish, or hardship, which can be mental, emotional, or situational, in addition to physical.

頭が痛い。(Atama ga itai.) - My head hurts.

苦しい vs 大変 (たいへん)

Both can express something being 'hard' or 'tough.'

大変 (taihen) is a broader term meaning 'serious,' 'awful,' 'very,' or 'difficult/tough' (often in a general sense of effort or inconvenience). While it can describe a difficult situation, it doesn't always carry the same connotation of suffering or struggle as 苦しい (kurushii).

仕事が大変で毎日忙しい。(Shigoto ga taihen de mainichi isogashii.) - My work is tough and I'm busy every day.

苦しい vs 悩む (なやむ) (verb)

Both relate to distress or trouble.

悩む (nayamu) is a verb meaning 'to worry,' 'to be troubled,' or 'to be distressed' about something. 苦しい (kurushii) is an adjective describing the state of being painful or difficult, which might be the *result* of 悩む.

将来について悩んでいる。(Shourai ni tsuite nayande iru.) - I'm worrying about my future.

سوالات متداول

10 سوال

That's a great question, and a common point of confusion for learners! 苦しい (kurushii) means painful, difficult, or agonizing, often referring to a physical or emotional struggle. Think of a 'painful uphill battle' or 'agonizing decision.'

難しい (muzukashii) simply means 'difficult' or 'hard' in a more general sense. For example, a 'difficult math problem' or a 'hard game.'

So, while both can convey difficulty, 苦しい adds that element of pain or suffering.

Here's an example to show the difference:

この仕事は難しいです。(Kono shigoto wa muzukashii desu.) - This job is difficult. (It might be complex, but not necessarily painful.)
この仕事は苦しいです。(Kono shigoto wa kurushii desu.) - This job is painful/agonizing. (It's causing stress, suffering, or a hard struggle.)

Yes, absolutely! 苦しい (kurushii) is very often used to describe financial difficulties or a 'tight' financial situation.

For example:
生活が苦しい。(Seikatsu ga kurushii.) - Life is financially difficult/hard to make ends meet.
家計が苦しい。(Kakei ga kurushii.) - Household finances are tight/strained.

It perfectly conveys the 'pain' or struggle associated with not having enough money.

Yes, it is! While you might also use 痛い (itai) for general pain, 苦しい (kurushii) can describe a more intense or distressing physical discomfort, often related to breathing or a deep, nagging pain.

For instance:
息が苦しい。(Iki ga kurushii.) - It's hard to breathe/I feel breathless.
胸が苦しい。(Mune ga kurushii.) - My chest feels tight/painful/heavy.

For a headache, you'd typically say 頭が痛い (atama ga itai), but if it's an agonizing, throbbing headache that makes you feel generally unwell, you *could* potentially describe your overall state as 苦しい (kurushii).

You can use 苦しい (kurushii) to describe the feeling of making a difficult or agonizing decision.

For example:
苦しい決断でした。(Kurushii ketsudan deshita.) - It was a painful/agonizing decision.
どちらを選ぶか、とても苦しいです。(Dochira wo erabu ka, totemo kurushii desu.) - Deciding which one to choose is very agonizing/difficult for me.

It conveys the emotional burden and struggle involved in the choice.

Generally, yes. 苦しい (kurushii) carries a strong connotation of pain, difficulty, suffering, or hardship. It's almost always used in situations that are unpleasant or challenging.

However, sometimes, enduring something 苦しい (kurushii) can lead to a positive outcome, like overcoming a 'painful challenge' to achieve a goal. But the '苦しい' part itself is still about the negative experience during the process.

Absolutely! It's very common to use 苦しい (kurushii) when describing the physical exertion and struggle during sports or intense exercise.

For example:
マラソンは本当に苦しいスポーツだ。(Marason wa hontou ni kurushii supōtsu da.) - Marathon running is truly a grueling/agonizing sport.
坂道は苦しい。(Sakamichi wa kurushii.) - The uphill road is tough/hard work (physically demanding).
トレーニングが苦しいけど、頑張る。(Torēningu ga kurushii kedo, ganbaru.) - The training is tough, but I'll do my best.

It effectively conveys the physical pain and effort involved.

苦しい (kurushii) is already the plain form of this i-adjective.

I-adjectives don't change their ending for the plain form when they are used to describe a noun (e.g., 苦しい状況 - kurushii joukyou - a painful situation) or at the end of a sentence in informal speech (e.g., 苦しいよ - kurushii yo - It's tough, you know!).

For its dictionary form, it's also 苦しい (kurushii).

To make 苦しい (kurushii) past tense, you change the final い (i) to かった (katta).

So, it becomes 苦しかった (kurushikatta).

Example:
あの時は本当に苦しかった。(Ano toki wa hontou ni kurushikatta.) - That time was truly painful/difficult.
試合に負けて苦しかった。(Shiai ni makete kurushikatta.) - Losing the game was agonizing.

While 苦しい (kurushii) primarily describes situations or feelings, you generally wouldn't use it directly to describe someone's personality as 'painful' or 'difficult' in the way you might in English (e.g., 'he's a difficult person').

For a difficult personality, you'd likely use different words like 難しい人 (muzukashii hito - a difficult person to deal with/understand) or 意地悪 (ijiwaru - mean-spirited).

However, you could say someone is *in a 苦しい (kurushii) situation* or *feeling 苦しい (kurushii)* due to their circumstances.

Yes, there are a few common expressions where 苦しい (kurushii) appears:

苦しい言い訳 (kurushii iiwake) - A lame excuse / A strained excuse. This implies the excuse is so weak or unbelievable that it's 'painful' to listen to or believe.
苦しい立場 (kurushii tachiba) - A difficult/awkward position/situation. This refers to being in a predicament where one feels constrained or under pressure.
苦しい戦い (kurushii tatakai) - A hard-fought battle / A grueling fight. This implies a struggle that required great effort and was very challenging.

خودت رو بسنج 36 سوال

listening A1

Someone is feeling physical discomfort in their stomach.

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح: お腹が苦しいです。

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح:

listening A1

Someone is describing a task or job.

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح: この仕事は苦しいです。

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح:

listening A1

Someone is talking about enduring a difficult period.

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح: 苦しい時も頑張ります。

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح:

speaking A1

این را بلند بخوانید:

この本は苦しいです。

تمرکز: ku-ru-shii

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح:

speaking A1

این را بلند بخوانید:

私は苦しい。

تمرکز: watashi wa ku-ru-shii

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح:

speaking A1

این را بلند بخوانید:

それはとても苦しい経験でした。

تمرکز: sore wa totemo ku-ru-shii kei-ken de-shi-ta

درسته! نه دقیقاً. پاسخ صحیح:

fill blank A2

試験はとても＿＿＿かったです。