bitter experience; hardship; distress; misery
A painful or unfortunate experience that one undergoes, rather than simple sadness. Most natural in fixed written-style collocations such as 憂き目に遭う, 憂き目を見る, or 憂き目を味わう.
The company suffered the bitter experience of going bankrupt in the recession.
He went through the painful experience of being betrayed by a friend he trusted.
The company went bankrupt, and many employees suffered the misfortune of losing their jobs.
In his youth, he went through the bitter experience of poverty.
辛酸 is a literary term for bitter hardship typically paired with なめる, whereas 憂き目 is typically paired with 遭う or 見る.
災難 refers to the misfortune or calamity itself, while 憂き目 emphasizes the painful experience of undergoing that misfortune.
憂鬱 shares the kanji 憂 and means a gloomy, depressed mood, whereas 憂き目 refers to a specific bitter experience or misfortune one goes through.
憂き目 refers to a specific bitter or painful experience one has suffered, while 憂さ is a general feeling of gloom or melancholy, not tied to one event.
Standard attested spelling; often used in set phrases such as 憂き目に遭う and 憂き目を見る.
It is a search-only kanji form; 憂き目 is the normal spelling.
This mixed kana-kanji spelling is search-only; it is useful for lookup but not the preferred form.
Analyzable as 憂き, an older attributive form meaning 'painful' or 'sorrowful,' plus 目 in the sense of an experience or situation; the compound literally suggests a painful experience.