聞ききづらい

き

づ

ら

い

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

i-adjective

hard to hear; difficult to hear

Describes a situation where sound is physically hard to perceive, e.g., due to noise, low volume, or unclear speech.

後うしろの席せきだと先せん生せいの声こえが聞ききづらい。
It's hard to hear the teacher's voice from the back seats.
この動どう画がは音おとが悪わるくて

聞き

き

づらい

。

This video has poor sound and is hard to hear.

2

i-adjective

unpleasant to hear; painful to listen to

Refers to content that is emotionally or psychologically hard to listen to, such as criticism, bad news, or harsh words.

彼かれの愚ぐ痴ちは聞ききづらい。
His complaints are unpleasant to listen to.
その話はなしはあまりにも悲かなしくて聞ききづらかった。
That story was so sad it was painful to hear.

3

i-adjective

hard to ask; difficult to ask

Only when written 聞きづらい / 聞き辛い

Used when a question or request is awkward, embarrassing, or difficult to bring up. Restricted to kanji forms with 聞く (to ask).

給きゅう料りょうのことは上じょう司しに聞ききづらい。
It's hard to ask my boss about my salary.
そんなプライベートなことは聞ききづらいよ。
It's awkward to ask such a personal question.

Written forms

聞ききづらい
Standard spelling for 'hard to hear' and 'hard to ask'. Uses 聞く (to hear/ask) with the auxiliary adjective づらい (hard to do).
聴ききづらい
Uses 聴く (to listen) for the 'hard to hear' sense, emphasizing intentional listening. Less common than 聞きづらい.
聞きき辛づらい
Kanji spelling using 辛い (hard/painful). Acceptable but less common than the づらい form.

Kanji

聞hear, ask, listen
聴listen, headstrong, naughty
辛spicy, bitter, hot

Similar words

聞ききにくい
聞きにくい also means 'hard to hear/ask', but にくい is more objective (physically difficult), while づらい implies subjective difficulty or emotional reluctance.
聞きき苦ぐるしい
聞き苦しい emphasizes that something is unpleasant or offensive to the ear, often due to poor quality or content, and is stronger than 聞きづらい.

Etymology

Compound of the verb stem 聞き (from 聞く 'to hear/ask') and the auxiliary adjective づらい 'hard to do, difficult to do'. The づらい form is a common suffix expressing subjective difficulty.