Translation guide
How to express the experience of physical or emotional pain in Japanese, from common verbs to nuanced expressions.
My head hurts.
To say that a part of the body hurts or that one is in physical pain.
The most common and direct way to say something hurts. Used as an adjective.
My head hurts.
I have a stomachache.
Verb meaning 'to ache' or 'to hurt', often used for ongoing or internal pain. Slightly more formal than 痛い.
Literally 'to feel pain'. More descriptive and can be used in medical or formal contexts.
Describes a throbbing, dull, persistent pain. Often used for toothaches or old injuries.
To express that one is hurting emotionally, such as heartache or mental suffering.
Literally 'my heart hurts'. A natural way to express emotional pain or guilt.
Hearing his words, my heart aches.
Similar to 心が痛い, but uses 胸 (chest) to convey a heavy, aching feeling in the heart.
Verb meaning 'to suffer', used for both physical and emotional pain. Stronger than 痛い.
Adjective meaning 'painful', 'hard', or 'distressing'. Commonly used for emotional hardship.
To express that you feel someone else's pain or sympathize deeply.
English 'feel pain' often becomes simply 痛い (it hurts) in Japanese. Saying 痛みを感じる is grammatically correct but can sound overly literal or formal in casual speech.
痛い is an adjective describing a state ('it is painful'), while 痛む is a verb describing an ongoing process ('it aches'). Use 痛い for immediate, sharp pain and 痛む for dull, continuous pain.
傷が痛む。
The wound hurts.
My tooth aches.
I felt pain after the surgery.
虫歯が疼く。
My cavity is throbbing.
It pains me to hear that story.
彼女は失恋で苦しんでいる。
She is suffering from a broken heart.
別れるのは辛い。
It's painful to say goodbye.