serious wound; severe injury
Physical injury that is deep or life-threatening. Often used in dramatic or news contexts.
He suffered a serious wound on the battlefield.
hard blow; heavy damage; severe setback
Metaphorical use for emotional, financial, or organizational damage. Common in business and sports reporting.
The loss of a key player is a huge blow to the team.
The scandal dealt a severe blow to the company's reputation.
The company suffered a serious blow from this scandal.
Local agriculture took a severe hit from the typhoon.
It took the company several years to recover from the setback.
傷 is the general word for a wound or injury of any degree, whereas 痛手 implies a serious, often life-threatening or deeply damaging wound.
深手 specifically means a deep physical wound, a narrower and more literal counterpart to the physical sense of 痛手.
ダメージ is a casual loanword for damage (often physical or emotional) that overlaps with the metaphorical sense of 痛手 but sounds less formal.
Standard kanji spelling; used in news and everyday writing.
Rarely used kanji form; learners should recognize it but use 痛手.
Compound of 痛 (ita, 'painful') and 手 (te, 'hand'), with rendaku voicing. Originally referred to a wound on the hand, then generalized to any serious injury or blow.
That defeat dealt a serious blow to the opposing team.
The star player's injury became a major blow to the team.