Translation guide
The emotional pain of sadness, grief, or longing, especially related to love or loss.
Express deep sadness or grief, especially from romantic disappointment or loss of a loved one.
Literally 'heart pain', this is the most direct and common translation for emotional anguish or heartache. Used in both spoken and written Japanese.
Express the ache of missing someone or wanting something unattainable.
The heartache of losing a child is unimaginable.
I'm suffering from the heartache of a broken heart.
A natural phrase meaning 'my chest hurts', used to describe the physical sensation of emotional pain. Very common in everyday speech.
It gives me heartache to see her sad face.
Similar to 胸が痛む but more directly 'my heart hurts'. Slightly more literary or introspective.
My heart ached when I heard the news.
Deep grief or sorrow, often used in formal or literary contexts. Stronger than everyday heartache.
He lost his beloved and was consumed by deep heartache.
An adjective describing a painful, tight feeling in the chest from longing, nostalgia, or unrequited love. Very common in songs and everyday speech.
A long-distance relationship is heartache.
Listening to this song makes me feel heartache.
Literally 'my chest is squeezed', this vividly expresses the physical sensation of emotional pain from longing or sadness.
When I remember him, I feel a heartache.
Yearning or longing, often with a romantic or nostalgic nuance. More literary.
Heartache for my hometown burns in my chest.
My heart aches so much I can't sleep.
While 心 (こころ) means heart/mind, directly saying 心の痛み (こころのいたみ) is less common than 心痛 or 胸が痛む. The latter are more idiomatic.
彼女は笑顔の裏に心痛を隠そうとした。
She tried to hide her heartache behind a smile.