Translation guide
How to express causing emotional pain or offense in Japanese, from mild hurt to deep wounding.
I hurt his feelings.
I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
Express that someone's words or actions caused emotional pain or offense.
The most direct and common translation. '気持ち' means feelings, '傷つける' means to hurt/injure. Used for emotional hurt.
His words hurt her feelings.
If you say something like that, you'll hurt the other person's feelings.
Literally 'to wound/injure', often used alone when the context makes it clear it's emotional. Can be used with a person as the object.
More poetic/literary; '心' means heart/mind. Emphasizes deep emotional wounding.
Express that someone took offense or felt insulted by something said or done.
Formal expression meaning 'to hurt someone's feelings' or 'to offend'. Often used in apologies or warnings.
If I hurt your feelings, I apologize.
His remarks offended many people.
Causative of '怒る' (to get angry). Means 'to make someone angry/offended'. Stronger than just hurt feelings.
I didn't mean to make him angry.
Express that one's own feelings are hurt, focusing on the receiver's emotion.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to be hurt/wounded'. Commonly used for emotional hurt. The subject is the person who is hurt.
I was hurt by his words.
Means 'to become sad'. Softer than 傷つく, expresses sadness rather than deep wounding.
I felt sad when my friend ignored me.
Specifically damage someone's self-esteem or pride.
傷つける is a general term for hurting someone emotionally, while 気分を害する is more formal and specifically means to offend or cause displeasure. Use 気分を害する in polite apologies or when discussing social offenses.
I was offended by his joke.
I was hurt by his joke.
While '気持ち' is correct, using '感情' (かんじょう) in this context is unnatural. '感情を傷つける' is not idiomatic. Stick to 気持ち or 心.
hurt someone's feelings
She was hurt by his comment.
Please don't say things that hurt people's feelings.
He hurt me (emotionally).
That joke hurt him.
Her cold attitude hurt my heart.
It hurts when you say things like that.
His criticism hurt her self-esteem.